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

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. clip — for paper
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. dip — to sink
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. degree — temperature
  8. current — electric
  9. hand — in cards
  10. degree — from a university
  11. current — of water
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. current — happening now
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. clip — to cut
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. hand — help
  21. degree — an amount
  22. foot — a measure
  23. clip — a video
  24. dip — to dunk

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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