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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.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: hide · wave · coach · hand · degree · swing · clip · content

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. hand — help
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. hand — in cards
  7. swing — in golf
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. content — the amount
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. clip — for paper
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. swing — music
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. degree — from a university
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. degree — an amount
  19. content — happy
  20. swing — to play on
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. clip — to cut
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. clip — a video

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