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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  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. tear — from crying
  2. clip — to cut
  3. degree — an amount
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. root — of a word
  6. rule — a law
  7. clip — for paper
  8. degree — from a university
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. root — of a plant
  11. branch — a division
  12. tear — to rip
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. pit — a hole
  17. root — the cause
  18. pit — in a race
  19. tear — from crying
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. rule — government
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. clip — a video
  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