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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: safe · rock · mate · row · degree · clip · cold · ball

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. degree — an amount
  3. row — to paddle
  4. rock — a stone
  5. ball — a dance
  6. row — a line
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. mate — to breed
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. degree — from a university
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. clip — a video
  13. safe — a strongbox
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. mate — a partner
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. ball — a great time
  19. mate — a friend
  20. degree — temperature
  21. cold — an illness
  22. clip — to cut
  23. cold — not warm
  24. rock — 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