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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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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 · pop · ground · degree · arm · cap · suit · drill

  1. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. When will it ________________ you to start?
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. clip — for paper
  3. degree — temperature
  4. ground — crushed
  5. drill — the tool
  6. pop — music
  7. clip — a video
  8. suit — to fit
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. ground — the earth
  12. suit — clothes
  13. degree — from a university
  14. cap — of ice
  15. clip — to cut
  16. degree — an amount
  17. suit — in cards
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. cap — a lid
  20. pop — soda
  21. drill — army training
  22. ground — a position
  23. drill — a practice
  24. cap — a hat

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