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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: pit · drill · stick · craft · clip · degree · file · board

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. file — a line of people
  3. pit — a hole
  4. drill — a practice
  5. clip — a video
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. clip — to cut
  8. degree — from a university
  9. craft — boats
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. clip — for paper
  12. board — a committee
  13. pit — in a race
  14. craft — a skill
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. drill — army training
  17. drill — the tool
  18. board — to get on
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. file — a tool
  21. degree — temperature
  22. file — a document
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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