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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: fall · clip · degree · rule · nail · board · net · mate

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. degree — an amount
  3. board — to get on
  4. clip — a video
  5. rule — a law
  6. mate — to breed
  7. clip — for paper
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. degree — temperature
  10. rule — government
  11. net — in sport
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. mate — a friend
  15. fall — to drop
  16. net — for catching
  17. fall — to drop
  18. fall — the season
  19. clip — to cut
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. board — a committee
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. net — after costs
  24. mate — a partner

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