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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. We're on a ________________ here.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — on a roll
  2. pop — soda
  3. roll — a cake
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. object — an aim
  6. ground — the earth
  7. clip — to cut
  8. object — a thing
  9. degree — an amount
  10. clip — a video
  11. rash — hasty
  12. pop — music
  13. ground — crushed
  14. degree — temperature
  15. ground — a position
  16. clip — for paper
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. object — to protest
  19. pound — a weight
  20. rash — a series
  21. degree — from a university
  22. roll — a list
  23. pop — to visit
  24. pound — for dogs

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