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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
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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: degree · clip · mug · bear · land · pop · ball · stick

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. pop — to visit
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. bear — the animal
  5. pop — music
  6. clip — a video
  7. clip — to cut
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. clip — for paper
  10. land — ground
  11. degree — from a university
  12. ball — a great time
  13. bear — the animal
  14. mug — to rob
  15. land — to come down
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. degree — an amount
  18. mug — a face
  19. degree — temperature
  20. mug — a cup
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. pop — soda
  24. ball — a dance

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