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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 120 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. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  16. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. degree — an amount
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. season — in sport
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. degree — from a university
  8. current — happening now
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. cold — an illness
  11. current — of water
  12. current — electric
  13. cold — not warm
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. safe — a strongbox
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. clip — a video
  19. degree — temperature
  20. season — of the year
  21. clip — for paper
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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