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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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. rule — government
  4. file — a tool
  5. file — a line of people
  6. file — a document
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. content — the amount
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. degree — temperature
  13. clip — for paper
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. degree — an amount
  18. clip — a video
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. degree — from a university
  21. clip — to cut
  22. rule — a law
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. content — happy

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