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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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. stand — for spectators
  3. clip — for paper
  4. pop — soda
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. tear — to rip
  7. clip — a video
  8. track — a path
  9. track — to keep track
  10. stand — to bear
  11. track — a song
  12. degree — temperature
  13. degree — an amount
  14. pop — to visit
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. degree — from a university
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. tear — from crying
  22. mine — for digging
  23. tear — from crying
  24. clip — to cut

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