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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 120 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 were using a ________________ as a seat.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — a stone
  2. clip — for paper
  3. rock — music
  4. staff — employees
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. clip — a video
  9. prune — to trim
  10. degree — an amount
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. staff — employees
  13. staff — a stick
  14. spring — of water
  15. clip — to cut
  16. spring — a coil
  17. spring — the season
  18. prune — to trim
  19. band — a music group
  20. degree — temperature
  21. band — a ring
  22. rush — hurry
  23. degree — from a university
  24. rush — a thrill

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