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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. bat — the animal
  3. clip — a video
  4. clip — to cut
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. shower — rain
  9. mine — for digging
  10. spring — of water
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. clip — for paper
  15. degree — from a university
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. can — a tin
  18. spring — a coil
  19. can — a tin
  20. shower — to wash
  21. degree — temperature
  22. degree — an amount
  23. can — to be able to
  24. spring — the season

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