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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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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: plane · clip · march · staff · cold · degree · cabinet · race

  1. The ________________ took off on time.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. degree — temperature
  3. march — music
  4. staff — employees
  5. race — the arms race
  6. clip — a video
  7. clip — for paper
  8. race — a contest
  9. march — the month
  10. staff — a stick
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. cold — an illness
  14. cold — not warm
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. clip — to cut
  17. staff — employees
  18. march — the month
  19. degree — from a university
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. race — humankind
  22. plane — a tool
  23. degree — an amount
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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