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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.

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: suit · wake · degree · clip · pop · fan · chair · land

  1. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. When will it ________________ you to start?
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  22. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  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. pop — soda
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. pop — music
  4. chair — a leader
  5. land — a country
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. clip — for paper
  10. degree — an amount
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. degree — temperature
  13. wake — a trail
  14. land — ground
  15. suit — to fit
  16. degree — from a university
  17. clip — a video
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. pop — to visit
  21. suit — in cards
  22. suit — clothes
  23. land — to come down
  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