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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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468
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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  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. season — in sport
  2. degree — temperature
  3. clip — a video
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. cell — in biology
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. file — a tool
  8. season — of the year
  9. clip — to cut
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. degree — from a university
  12. file — a document
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. file — a line of people
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. clip — for paper
  21. fork — in a road
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. cell — a phone
  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