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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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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: clip · track · pop · swing · tear · plane · degree · current

  1. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. plane — a tool
  3. current — happening now
  4. tear — to rip
  5. tear — from crying
  6. clip — for paper
  7. tear — from crying
  8. swing — music
  9. pop — soda
  10. track — to keep track
  11. degree — temperature
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. clip — to cut
  14. current — electric
  15. clip — a video
  16. degree — from a university
  17. current — of water
  18. swing — in golf
  19. track — a song
  20. track — a path
  21. swing — to play on
  22. degree — an amount
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. pop — music

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