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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. bass — the fish
  3. ball — a dance
  4. swing — in golf
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. clip — for paper
  7. charge — a price
  8. prune — to trim
  9. bass — low music
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. charge — electricity
  12. degree — an amount
  13. present — a gift
  14. degree — from a university
  15. clip — a video
  16. swing — music
  17. present — there
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. swing — to play on
  20. clip — to cut
  21. present — the time now
  22. degree — temperature
  23. charge — in control
  24. prune — to trim

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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