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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. season — of the year
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. bay — to keep at bay
  5. mark — a grade
  6. clip — a video
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. ground — the earth
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. season — in sport
  11. ground — crushed
  12. degree — an amount
  13. degree — temperature
  14. mark — a trace
  15. ground — a position
  16. kid — to tease
  17. kid — child
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. dip — to sink
  23. clip — for paper
  24. degree — from a university

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