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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. capital — money
  4. clip — to cut
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. pop — to visit
  7. clip — a video
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. capital — a city
  12. pop — music
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. cue — a signal
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. cue — a hint
  18. pop — soda
  19. degree — an amount
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. degree — from a university
  22. cue — for pool
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. degree — temperature

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