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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. degree — temperature
  3. degree — an amount
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. lean — to bend
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. clip — to cut
  8. lean — thin
  9. court — of law
  10. can — a tin
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. court — of a king
  13. clip — a video
  14. degree — from a university
  15. can — to be able to
  16. can — a tin
  17. court — for sport
  18. 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