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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. club — a group
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. degree — from a university
  5. mate — a partner
  6. mate — to breed
  7. clip — to cut
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. last — to go on
  10. deal — to handle
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. club — for golf
  13. mate — a friend
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. bore — to tire
  16. bore — to drill
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. clip — a video
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. last — final
  21. club — for dancing
  22. degree — an amount
  23. degree — temperature
  24. last — finally

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