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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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. When will it ________________ you to start?
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. clip — a video
  3. suit — to fit
  4. degree — an amount
  5. track — a song
  6. bank — for money
  7. degree — temperature
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. clip — to cut
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. mark — a trace
  12. mark — a grade
  13. degree — from a university
  14. bank — for money
  15. suit — in cards
  16. track — a path
  17. suit — clothes
  18. ground — a position
  19. ground — the earth
  20. bank — of a river
  21. track — to keep track
  22. band — a ring
  23. band — a music group
  24. ground — crushed

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