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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: degree · clip · file · cap · pass · ruler

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. 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. file — a tool
  2. file — a document
  3. file — a line of people
  4. ruler — a monarch
  5. cap — of ice
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. pass — a permit
  8. degree — from a university
  9. cap — a hat
  10. cap — a lid
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. clip — to cut
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. clip — for paper
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. clip — a video
  17. degree — temperature
  18. 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