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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: spell · clip · cell · degree · straw · stick · scale · mug

  1. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. spell — letters
  3. degree — an amount
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. scale — size or range
  6. clip — a video
  7. cell — a phone
  8. mug — a cup
  9. degree — temperature
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. cell — in biology
  13. clip — to cut
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. scale — in music
  18. mug — to rob
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. spell — a short time
  21. degree — from a university
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. spell — magic
  24. clip — for paper

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