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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. swing — to play on
  3. clip — for paper
  4. bulb — for light
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. spell — magic
  8. pop — music
  9. bulb — for light
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. pop — soda
  12. degree — an amount
  13. fine — all right
  14. clip — a video
  15. swing — music
  16. fine — high quality
  17. spell — a short time
  18. spell — letters
  19. degree — temperature
  20. swing — in golf
  21. hand — in cards
  22. clip — to cut
  23. hand — help
  24. degree — from a university

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