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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. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. track — a path
  4. degree — from a university
  5. prune — to trim
  6. degree — temperature
  7. clip — a video
  8. clip — for paper
  9. degree — an amount
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. clip — to cut
  13. track — to keep track
  14. swing — music
  15. swing — in golf
  16. wake — a trail
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. track — a song
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. prune — to trim
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. swing — to play on
  24. arm — part of the body

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