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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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  4. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. My mare is ________________ in color.
  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. object — to protest
  2. clip — a video
  3. bay — a part of the sea
  4. firm — steady
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. last — finally
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. last — final
  10. saw — the tool
  11. saw — the tool
  12. last — to go on
  13. degree — temperature
  14. snap — to click
  15. firm — decided
  16. clip — to cut
  17. object — an aim
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. object — a thing
  20. clip — for paper
  21. firm — a company
  22. degree — an amount
  23. bay — a horse colour
  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