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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: stick · content · race · degree · fall · mark · clip · bound

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. degree — from a university
  3. stick — to attach or keep to
  4. mark — a trace
  5. degree — an amount
  6. clip — for paper
  7. race — humankind
  8. fall — the season
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. clip — to cut
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. bound — tied together
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. content — the amount
  15. race — a contest
  16. fall — to drop
  17. bound — obliged
  18. fall — to drop
  19. bound — certain
  20. race — the arms race
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. mark — a grade
  23. content — happy
  24. clip — a video

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