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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 120 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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. clip — a video
  3. file — a tool
  4. lie — to recline
  5. rash — a series
  6. file — a line of people
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. pit — a hole
  9. perch — the fish
  10. ball — a great time
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. degree — from a university
  15. clip — for paper
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. degree — temperature
  18. file — a document
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. degree — an amount
  22. ball — a dance
  23. rash — hasty
  24. pit — in a race

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