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

Word bank: deal · fall · pass · stick · swing · land · degree · clip

  1. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. swing — music
  3. land — a country
  4. degree — temperature
  5. fall — to drop
  6. swing — to play on
  7. clip — for paper
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. fall — to drop
  10. degree — from a university
  11. degree — an amount
  12. clip — to cut
  13. land — ground
  14. swing — in golf
  15. pass — a permit
  16. deal — to handle
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. fall — the season
  20. clip — a video
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. land — to come down

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