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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. tube — the underground
  7. degree — an amount
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. degree — temperature
  10. pitch — completely
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. net — after costs
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. net — in sport
  16. degree — from a university
  17. tube — a container
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. clip — a video
  21. net — for catching
  22. ruler — a monarch
  23. clip — to cut
  24. clip — for paper

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