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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 116 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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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: key · wave · deal · clip · wind · degree · pit · track

  1. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. track — to keep track
  3. clip — to cut
  4. track — a song
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. clip — a video
  9. deal — to handle
  10. pit — a hole
  11. wind — moving air
  12. wind — moving air
  13. pit — in a race
  14. track — a path
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. degree — an amount
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. clip — for paper
  19. key — for a lock
  20. degree — temperature
  21. degree — from a university
  22. key — in music
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. wave — with your hand

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