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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 116 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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. bear — the animal
  3. game — a match
  4. chip — to eat
  5. clip — for paper
  6. degree — temperature
  7. kid — to tease
  8. bound — tied together
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. bound — obliged
  11. degree — from a university
  12. bound — certain
  13. bear — the animal
  14. degree — an amount
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. safe — a strongbox
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. game — wild animals
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. kid — child
  22. chip — for betting
  23. clip — a video
  24. safe — out of danger

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