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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. clip — a video
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. land — a country
  5. degree — from a university
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. plane — a tool
  9. degree — temperature
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. clip — for paper
  15. clip — to cut
  16. branch — a division
  17. land — to come down
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. land — ground
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. degree — an amount
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. plane — in geometry

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