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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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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: staff · clip · degree · cabinet · perch · cell

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  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. clip — a video
  2. cell — a phone
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. perch — the fish
  5. degree — temperature
  6. staff — a stick
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. clip — for paper
  9. degree — from a university
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. cell — in biology
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. staff — employees
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. clip — to cut
  16. staff — employees
  17. cell — in a prison
  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