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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. degree — temperature
  3. land — to come down
  4. degree — an amount
  5. stem — to come from
  6. clip — for paper
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. degree — from a university
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. scale — in music
  11. row — a line
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. row — to paddle
  14. clip — a video
  15. clip — to cut
  16. rush — hurry
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. board — to get on
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. land — a country
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. board — a committee
  23. land — ground
  24. row — a quarrel

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