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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 ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. clip — to cut
  3. degree — temperature
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. lean — to bend
  7. spell — letters
  8. court — of a king
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. clip — a video
  11. spell — a short time
  12. spell — magic
  13. degree — an amount
  14. can — a tin
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. fall — to drop
  17. court — for sport
  18. can — to be able to
  19. fall — to drop
  20. degree — from a university
  21. clip — for paper
  22. lean — thin
  23. can — a tin
  24. fall — the season

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