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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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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. cap — of ice
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. cell — in biology
  6. degree — from a university
  7. cap — a lid
  8. pound — a weight
  9. file — a document
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. rock — a stone
  12. degree — an amount
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. cell — a phone
  15. rock — music
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. degree — temperature
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. cap — a hat
  21. clip — a video
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. file — a line of people
  24. file — a tool

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