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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. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. tube — the underground
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. rest — what's left
  7. tube — a container
  8. degree — an amount
  9. rest — what's left
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. rock — music
  14. degree — temperature
  15. court — for sport
  16. court — of a king
  17. clip — a video
  18. degree — from a university
  19. rest — a break
  20. clip — for paper
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. court — of law
  23. rock — a stone
  24. pound — a weight

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