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

  1. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. pass — a permit
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. cell — a phone
  5. pass — to spend time
  6. dip — to sink
  7. degree — from a university
  8. track — a song
  9. pop — to visit
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. track — to keep track
  15. pop — music
  16. degree — an amount
  17. row — to paddle
  18. track — a path
  19. pass — to succeed
  20. degree — temperature
  21. pop — soda
  22. row — a line
  23. cell — in biology
  24. deal — to handle

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