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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. rock — a stone
  4. scale — size or range
  5. clip — for paper
  6. content — the amount
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. scale — in music
  9. prune — to trim
  10. degree — an amount
  11. degree — temperature
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. clip — a video
  15. content — happy
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. prune — to trim
  18. clip — to cut
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. rock — music
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. degree — from a university
  24. content — videos and posts

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