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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. clip — to cut
  3. last — finally
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. field — for sport
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. bear — the animal
  8. degree — an amount
  9. bear — the animal
  10. lean — to bend
  11. degree — temperature
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. pop — soda
  14. clip — a video
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. field — a subject
  17. last — to go on
  18. field — farmland
  19. last — final
  20. degree — from a university
  21. lean — thin
  22. pop — to visit
  23. pop — music
  24. bear — to put up with

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