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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. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  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. dip — to dunk
  2. clip — to cut
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. spell — a short time
  5. race — a contest
  6. rush — hurry
  7. race — the arms race
  8. degree — temperature
  9. degree — from a university
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. race — humankind
  13. lean — thin
  14. degree — an amount
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. clip — a video
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. lean — to bend
  19. spell — letters
  20. spell — magic
  21. clip — for paper
  22. dip — to sink
  23. dip — a sauce
  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