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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: stick · patient · clip · club · scale · snap · degree · spring

  1. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — in music
  2. degree — an amount
  3. club — for dancing
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. scale — size or range
  6. club — a group
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. clip — a video
  9. clip — for paper
  10. degree — temperature
  11. spring — the season
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. degree — from a university
  14. spring — a coil
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. club — for golf
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. clip — to cut
  23. spring — of water
  24. snap — to click

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