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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 116 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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. clip — to cut
  3. net — after costs
  4. net — in sport
  5. pop — to visit
  6. clip — for paper
  7. degree — an amount
  8. clip — a video
  9. bound — certain
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. degree — from a university
  12. degree — temperature
  13. capital — a city
  14. bound — obliged
  15. pop — music
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. bound — tied together
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. ruler — a monarch
  21. net — for catching
  22. band — a ring
  23. capital — money
  24. band — a music group

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