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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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. clip — to cut
  3. rest — what's left
  4. fine — high quality
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. chair — a leader
  8. band — a ring
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. degree — an amount
  11. degree — from a university
  12. rest — what's left
  13. band — a music group
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. saw — the tool
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. saw — the tool
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. fine — all right
  21. snap — to click
  22. clip — for paper
  23. rest — a break
  24. degree — temperature

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