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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: wake · clip · pop · racket · degree · mouse · nail · rock

  1. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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. rock — to move gently
  4. pop — soda
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. clip — to cut
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. wake — a trail
  12. degree — from a university
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. rock — music
  15. clip — a video
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. rock — a stone
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. pop — music
  23. degree — temperature
  24. degree — an 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