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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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468
Word bank
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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 ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. clip — to cut
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. degree — temperature
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. clip — for paper
  7. file — a tool
  8. file — a document
  9. degree — from a university
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. degree — an amount
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. rest — what's left
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. file — a line of people
  17. hand — help
  18. clip — a video
  19. hand — in cards
  20. rest — a break
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. chair — a leader
  24. chair — a professorship

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