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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: wave · mark · clip · toast · degree · scale · fork · stock

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. stock — goods
  4. toast — the most admired
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. clip — a video
  7. degree — an amount
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. stock — shares
  10. degree — temperature
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. toast — a drink to someone
  13. scale — in music
  14. degree — from a university
  15. fork — in a road
  16. clip — for paper
  17. toast — bread
  18. scale — size or range
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. mark — a grade
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. mark — a trace
  24. clip — to cut

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