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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. degree — an amount
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. clip — for paper
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. bank — for money
  7. tube — the underground
  8. current — electric
  9. current — of water
  10. clip — a video
  11. tube — a container
  12. squash — the sport
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. bank — for money
  15. stand — to bear
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. squash — to crush
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. degree — from a university
  20. bank — of a river
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. current — happening now
  23. clip — to cut
  24. degree — temperature

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