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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. pop — to visit
  4. bay — to keep at bay
  5. fork — in a road
  6. clip — for paper
  7. bass — the fish
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. degree — from a university
  11. clip — a video
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. pop — music
  14. march — music
  15. march — the month
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. clip — to cut
  18. degree — an amount
  19. bass — low music
  20. march — the month
  21. wind — moving air
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. degree — temperature
  24. pop — soda

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