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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. clip — for paper
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. pop — soda
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. pop — music
  8. clip — to cut
  9. stock — goods
  10. degree — temperature
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. wax — to grow
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. degree — an amount
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. stock — shares
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. sharp — clever
  23. pop — to visit
  24. clip — a video

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