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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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. degree — an amount
  3. firm — decided
  4. can — a tin
  5. can — a tin
  6. kid — to tease
  7. clip — to cut
  8. kid — child
  9. clip — for paper
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. plane — a tool
  12. net — in sport
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. firm — a company
  16. net — after costs
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. firm — steady
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. degree — temperature
  22. degree — from a university
  23. can — to be able to
  24. net — for catching

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