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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. degree — temperature
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. scale — size or range
  5. branch — a division
  6. clip — a video
  7. degree — from a university
  8. bear — the animal
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. degree — an amount
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. clip — for paper
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. bear — the animal
  20. content — the amount
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. content — happy
  23. scale — in music
  24. scale — for weighing

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