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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: clip · safe · fine · march · season · degree · spell · current

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. season — of the year
  3. degree — from a university
  4. current — happening now
  5. safe — a strongbox
  6. fine — high quality
  7. fine — all right
  8. degree — temperature
  9. current — of water
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. spell — letters
  12. spell — magic
  13. season — in sport
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. degree — an amount
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. clip — a video
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. march — music
  20. spell — a short time
  21. clip — to cut
  22. march — the month
  23. current — electric
  24. march — the month

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