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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. rock — music
  3. fine — high quality
  4. clip — to cut
  5. degree — temperature
  6. rock — a stone
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. clip — a video
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. degree — an amount
  11. fine — all right
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. toast — a drink to someone
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. toast — bread
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. scale — size or range
  21. scale — in music
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. degree — from a university
  24. scale — for weighing

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