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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 116 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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. bound — obliged
  5. bound — tied together
  6. rash — a series
  7. cell — in biology
  8. degree — an amount
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. degree — from a university
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. mine — for digging
  14. degree — temperature
  15. clip — a video
  16. cell — a phone
  17. rash — hasty
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. bound — certain
  23. clip — to cut
  24. rash — on the skin

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