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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 116 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: tube · degree · stem · clip · stick · craft · club · wound

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. clip — to cut
  5. club — for dancing
  6. degree — an amount
  7. clip — for paper
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. wound — an injury
  11. clip — a video
  12. craft — a skill
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. stem — to come from
  15. wound — an injury
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. club — a group
  18. tube — the underground
  19. degree — temperature
  20. craft — boats
  21. tube — a container
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. club — for golf

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