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

Word bank: pit · drill · stick · craft · clip · degree

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. craft — a skill
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. craft — boats
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. pit — a hole
  8. degree — an amount
  9. drill — a practice
  10. drill — the tool
  11. pit — in a race
  12. drill — army training
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. degree — from a university
  15. clip — to cut
  16. clip — for paper
  17. degree — temperature
  18. stick — to attach or keep to

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