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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 116 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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. kid — to tease
  4. degree — from a university
  5. clip — to cut
  6. bank — of a river
  7. object — a thing
  8. capital — a city
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. bank — for money
  11. clip — a video
  12. swing — to play on
  13. swing — in golf
  14. clip — for paper
  15. firm — steady
  16. bank — for money
  17. kid — child
  18. firm — decided
  19. capital — money
  20. degree — temperature
  21. swing — music
  22. degree — an amount
  23. firm — a company
  24. object — an aim

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