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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. clip — to cut
  5. cue — a signal
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. degree — from a university
  10. wound — an injury
  11. wound — an injury
  12. cue — for pool
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. degree — temperature
  15. clip — a video
  16. cue — a hint
  17. chair — a leader
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. clip — for paper
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. craft — boats
  24. craft — a skill

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