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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 120 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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. degree — temperature
  3. degree — an amount
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. clip — for paper
  7. file — a document
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. swing — music
  10. clip — to cut
  11. club — for dancing
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. degree — from a university
  15. ball — a great time
  16. swing — in golf
  17. swing — to play on
  18. club — for golf
  19. club — a group
  20. clip — a video
  21. fine — all right
  22. file — a tool
  23. ball — a dance
  24. file — a line of people

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