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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 120 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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. degree — temperature
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. degree — from a university
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. fine — high quality
  9. track — a song
  10. clip — for paper
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. fine — all right
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. track — to keep track
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. last — final
  18. last — to go on
  19. clip — a video
  20. clip — to cut
  21. track — a path
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. degree — an amount

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