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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. degree — from a university
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. cold — an illness
  5. degree — an amount
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. present — the time now
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. present — a gift
  13. clip — a video
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. present — there
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. bear — the animal
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. cold — not warm
  21. clip — to cut
  22. degree — temperature
  23. bear — the animal
  24. cold — the Cold War

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