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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 · degree · coach · last · club · sharp · cabinet · pop

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. degree — from a university
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. club — for dancing
  5. club — for golf
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. sharp — clever
  8. degree — temperature
  9. last — finally
  10. pop — music
  11. pop — to visit
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. clip — to cut
  15. last — final
  16. degree — an amount
  17. clip — for paper
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. clip — a video
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. pop — soda
  23. club — a group
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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