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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: wave · pop · content · rule · track · clip · march · degree

  1. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. degree — from a university
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. clip — to cut
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. rule — government
  7. march — the month
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. content — happy
  10. track — a song
  11. pop — music
  12. track — a path
  13. clip — for paper
  14. rule — a law
  15. clip — a video
  16. pop — to visit
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. march — the month
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. degree — temperature
  21. track — to keep track
  22. degree — an amount
  23. march — music
  24. content — the amount

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