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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: lash · tear · clip · present · rule · degree

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. tear — from crying
  4. rule — a law
  5. present — there
  6. present — a gift
  7. degree — temperature
  8. degree — from a university
  9. tear — to rip
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. present — the time now
  12. clip — for paper
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. rule — government
  15. degree — an amount
  16. tear — from crying
  17. clip — a video
  18. lash — to lash out

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