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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: row · rock · mine · sharp · degree · pass · chair · clip

  1. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. degree — an amount
  4. degree — from a university
  5. clip — to cut
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. rock — music
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. degree — temperature
  11. pass — a permit
  12. chair — a leader
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. row — to paddle
  16. clip — for paper
  17. clip — a video
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. row — a line
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. mine — for digging
  23. rock — a stone
  24. chair — a professorship

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