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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 116 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. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. bank — of a river
  3. spell — magic
  4. bank — for money
  5. degree — from a university
  6. firm — decided
  7. degree — temperature
  8. spell — a short time
  9. cold — an illness
  10. firm — a company
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. clip — a video
  13. clip — for paper
  14. firm — steady
  15. saw — the tool
  16. pit — in a race
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. saw — the tool
  19. spell — letters
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. degree — an amount
  22. cold — not warm
  23. pit — a hole
  24. bank — for money

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