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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. pop — to visit
  3. pop — soda
  4. pop — music
  5. degree — an amount
  6. degree — from a university
  7. swing — to play on
  8. swing — in golf
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. squash — to crush
  11. clip — a video
  12. last — finally
  13. squash — the sport
  14. staff — employees
  15. last — final
  16. last — to go on
  17. bore — to tire
  18. staff — a stick
  19. bore — to drill
  20. swing — music
  21. degree — temperature
  22. clip — to cut
  23. staff — employees
  24. bore — gave birth

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