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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: pass · pit · rule · stem · degree · clip

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. stem — to come from
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. degree — from a university
  5. rule — a law
  6. clip — to cut
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. degree — an amount
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. pass — a permit
  12. rule — government
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. clip — for paper
  15. degree — temperature
  16. pit — a hole
  17. pit — in a race
  18. pit — a fruit stone

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