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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 120 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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. saw — the tool
  3. clip — for paper
  4. clip — to cut
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. degree — from a university
  7. file — a line of people
  8. saw — the tool
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. file — a tool
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. clip — a video
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. chair — a leader
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. file — a document
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. degree — temperature
  24. deal — to handle

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