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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: bore · band · degree · clip · mark · scale · race · bat

  1. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. bore — to tire
  3. clip — a video
  4. bore — to drill
  5. mark — a trace
  6. race — humankind
  7. band — a ring
  8. clip — for paper
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. race — a contest
  13. degree — an amount
  14. clip — to cut
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. race — the arms race
  17. degree — from a university
  18. band — a music group
  19. degree — temperature
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. scale — size or range
  22. mark — a grade
  23. scale — in music
  24. bat — the animal

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