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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 120 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: stem · charge · clip · last · perch · degree · race · pound

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. race — a contest
  3. degree — an amount
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. charge — a price
  6. degree — temperature
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. last — final
  9. stem — to come from
  10. clip — to cut
  11. race — humankind
  12. perch — the fish
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. pound — a weight
  15. last — to go on
  16. clip — a video
  17. degree — from a university
  18. last — finally
  19. race — the arms race
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. charge — electricity
  22. charge — in control
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. perch — for a bird

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