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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: pitcher · ruler · clip · degree · stem · field · mate · stick

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. stem — to come from
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. mate — a friend
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. degree — temperature
  8. mate — a partner
  9. degree — an amount
  10. field — for sport
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. clip — to cut
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. clip — for paper
  15. mate — to breed
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. degree — from a university
  22. field — a subject
  23. field — farmland
  24. ruler — for measuring

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