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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: club · file · pound · clip · stick · mouse · wave · degree

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. degree — from a university
  3. file — a document
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. degree — an amount
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. clip — to cut
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. degree — temperature
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. club — for dancing
  15. clip — for paper
  16. clip — a video
  17. club — for golf
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. file — a line of people
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. club — a group
  23. pound — a weight
  24. wave — of the sea

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