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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: degree · chip · drill · perch · clip · bat · saw · content

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. bat — the animal
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. chip — for betting
  5. drill — army training
  6. clip — for paper
  7. content — the amount
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. degree — from a university
  11. clip — to cut
  12. drill — a practice
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. content — happy
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. chip — to eat
  17. drill — the tool
  18. degree — an amount
  19. saw — the tool
  20. degree — temperature
  21. saw — the tool
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. perch — the fish

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