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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. degree — temperature
  3. present — the time now
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. clip — to cut
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. face — to confront
  10. face — to point toward
  11. present — a gift
  12. face — part of the head
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. degree — from a university
  15. degree — an amount
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. rock — a stone
  18. craft — boats
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. clip — a video
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. rock — music
  23. present — there
  24. craft — a skill

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