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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. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. bat — the animal
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. bay — to keep at bay
  5. staff — employees
  6. staff — employees
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. degree — temperature
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. clip — a video
  11. degree — from a university
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. rash — hasty
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. staff — a stick
  16. clip — to cut
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. clip — for paper
  19. deal — to handle
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. fork — in a road
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. degree — an amount

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