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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 120 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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. When will it ________________ you to start?
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. degree — temperature
  3. suit — in cards
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. degree — from a university
  7. lean — thin
  8. pop — soda
  9. saw — the tool
  10. saw — the tool
  11. clip — a video
  12. lean — to bend
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. clip — to cut
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. degree — an amount
  17. suit — clothes
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. clip — for paper
  20. capital — money
  21. capital — a city
  22. pop — to visit
  23. suit — to fit
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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