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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. clip — a video
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. clip — to cut
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. face — part of the head
  11. stock — shares
  12. stock — goods
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. degree — an amount
  15. degree — temperature
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. clip — for paper
  18. chair — a leader
  19. face — to point toward
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. face — to confront
  23. safe — a strongbox
  24. hide — to keep secret

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