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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. clip — for paper
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. current — happening now
  5. swing — in golf
  6. current — electric
  7. bass — low music
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. root — of a plant
  10. degree — temperature
  11. cell — a phone
  12. cell — in biology
  13. mate — a friend
  14. root — of a word
  15. swing — to play on
  16. degree — from a university
  17. mate — to breed
  18. clip — to cut
  19. swing — music
  20. root — the cause
  21. clip — a video
  22. degree — an amount
  23. current — of water
  24. bass — the fish

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