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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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. field — for sport
  3. wind — moving air
  4. field — farmland
  5. cue — a hint
  6. squash — to crush
  7. squash — the sport
  8. clip — a video
  9. clip — for paper
  10. degree — temperature
  11. cue — for pool
  12. rock — a stone
  13. cue — a signal
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. rock — music
  16. pop — soda
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. field — a subject
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. wind — moving air
  21. clip — to cut
  22. degree — an amount
  23. pop — to visit
  24. degree — from a university

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