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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. land — a country
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. firm — a company
  5. track — a path
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. degree — temperature
  8. land — to come down
  9. degree — from a university
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. firm — steady
  12. degree — an amount
  13. stand — to bear
  14. track — a song
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. clip — a video
  17. land — ground
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. firm — decided
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. clip — to cut
  24. track — to keep track

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com