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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 124 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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. My mare is ________________ in color.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. clip — a video
  4. rule — government
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. rule — a law
  9. court — for sport
  10. clip — for paper
  11. court — of a king
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. degree — an amount
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. rush — hurry
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. bay — a horse colour
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. clip — to cut
  21. degree — temperature
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. court — of law

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