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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: degree · prune · cap · clip · wind · cabinet · board · scale

  1. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. cap — a hat
  4. wind — moving air
  5. board — a committee
  6. clip — a video
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. cap — a lid
  10. clip — to cut
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. degree — from a university
  13. cap — of ice
  14. board — to get on
  15. degree — an amount
  16. prune — to trim
  17. prune — to trim
  18. scale — size or range
  19. wind — moving air
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. scale — in music
  23. clip — for paper
  24. degree — temperature

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