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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. file — a tool
  3. file — a line of people
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. bark — to shout
  6. file — a document
  7. degree — temperature
  8. pass — a permit
  9. rule — government
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. pop — music
  13. pop — soda
  14. ball — a dance
  15. pop — to visit
  16. clip — a video
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. rule — a law
  20. ball — a great time
  21. clip — for paper
  22. degree — from a university
  23. pass — to succeed
  24. degree — an amount

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