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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. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. file — a tool
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. shower — rain
  7. present — there
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. file — a document
  10. clip — a video
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. degree — an amount
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. clip — for paper
  17. shower — to wash
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. present — a gift
  20. clip — to cut
  21. degree — temperature
  22. degree — from a university
  23. file — a line of people
  24. present — the time now

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