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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. lean — thin
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. lean — to bend
  7. clip — a video
  8. fall — to drop
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. degree — temperature
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. degree — from a university
  13. content — happy
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. clip — to cut
  17. fall — the season
  18. content — the amount
  19. snap — to click
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. degree — an amount
  22. fall — to drop
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. calf — a young animal

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