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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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  9. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. mark — a grade
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. roll — a list
  6. mark — a trace
  7. lie — to recline
  8. jam — to spread on bread
  9. jam — in traffic
  10. last — to go on
  11. roll — a cake
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. degree — an amount
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. degree — temperature
  16. last — finally
  17. clip — for paper
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. last — final
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. jam — a tight spot
  22. degree — from a university
  23. chair — a leader
  24. clip — to cut

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