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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. cold — not warm
  3. fork — in a road
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. degree — temperature
  6. degree — an amount
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. clip — to cut
  11. clip — a video
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. clip — for paper
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. deal — to handle
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. cold — an illness
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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