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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: clip · foot · club · scale · file · pitcher · tube · degree

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. 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. degree — from a university
  2. degree — temperature
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. foot — a measure
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. tube — the underground
  7. scale — in music
  8. club — for dancing
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. file — a document
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. file — a tool
  14. tube — a container
  15. club — for golf
  16. file — a line of people
  17. clip — for paper
  18. club — a group
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. clip — to cut
  21. scale — size or range
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. clip — a video
  24. 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