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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  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. track — a song
  2. degree — temperature
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. degree — an amount
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. clip — for paper
  8. track — a path
  9. rock — music
  10. branch — a division
  11. wax — to grow
  12. deal — to handle
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. clip — a video
  19. clip — to cut
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. track — to keep track
  23. rock — a stone
  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