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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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Word bank
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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: leaves · clip · degree · sharp · face · race · bat · firm

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. firm — steady
  4. bat — the animal
  5. face — to point toward
  6. race — the arms race
  7. face — to confront
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. degree — from a university
  11. race — a contest
  12. race — humankind
  13. firm — decided
  14. clip — a video
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. clip — for paper
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. firm — a company
  20. degree — temperature
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. face — part of the head
  23. degree — an amount
  24. sharp — clever

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