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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 116 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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. cell — a phone
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. pass — a permit
  5. clip — for paper
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. degree — an amount
  9. rash — a series
  10. degree — from a university
  11. march — the month
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. clip — a video
  15. swing — in golf
  16. march — the month
  17. swing — to play on
  18. rash — hasty
  19. degree — temperature
  20. pass — to succeed
  21. swing — music
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. march — music
  24. clip — to cut

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