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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. staff — employees
  3. staff — a stick
  4. clip — for paper
  5. degree — an amount
  6. deal — to handle
  7. degree — temperature
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. degree — from a university
  11. track — a path
  12. club — for golf
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. clip — a video
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. clip — to cut
  18. date — the fruit
  19. club — a group
  20. track — to keep track
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. staff — employees
  23. track — a song
  24. deal — a big deal

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