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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. degree — an amount
  4. lie — to recline
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. clip — to cut
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. degree — temperature
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. fork — in a road
  12. land — ground
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. land — to come down
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. key — the most important part
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. degree — from a university
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. key — for a lock
  21. key — in music
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. land — a country
  24. clip — a video

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