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

Word bank: chair · rest · clip · tear · spell · degree · safe · fall

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. clip — a video
  3. rest — a break
  4. rest — what's left
  5. safe — a strongbox
  6. clip — for paper
  7. chair — a leader
  8. spell — letters
  9. rest — what's left
  10. fall — to drop
  11. spell — a short time
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. tear — from crying
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. fall — the season
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. degree — an amount
  18. degree — from a university
  19. clip — to cut
  20. spell — magic
  21. fall — to drop
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. degree — temperature
  24. tear — to rip

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