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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. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. current — happening now
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. degree — from a university
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. degree — temperature
  11. cell — a phone
  12. field — farmland
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. clip — to cut
  15. current — of water
  16. degree — an amount
  17. field — for sport
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. clip — for paper
  20. safe — a strongbox
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. field — a subject
  23. cell — in biology
  24. current — electric

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