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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. degree — from a university
  5. season — in sport
  6. clip — a video
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. deal — to handle
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. chair — a leader
  13. season — of the year
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. degree — temperature
  16. degree — an amount
  17. scale — in music
  18. scale — size or range
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. clip — to cut
  24. lie — to recline

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