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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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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: clip · stick · race · mate · fork · cabinet · fine · degree

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. clip — for paper
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. fine — high quality
  6. race — humankind
  7. mate — a partner
  8. degree — an amount
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. mate — a friend
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. fine — all right
  14. mate — to breed
  15. race — the arms race
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. degree — from a university
  18. clip — to cut
  19. clip — a video
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. degree — temperature
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. fork — in a road
  24. race — a contest

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