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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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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: kid · degree · clip · lean · hide · bay · date · fine

  1. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. My mare is ________________ in color.
  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. fine — high quality
  2. bay — to keep at bay
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. date — the fruit
  5. degree — temperature
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. degree — an amount
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. lean — to bend
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. kid — to tease
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. lean — thin
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. degree — from a university
  19. clip — to cut
  20. clip — for paper
  21. fine — all right
  22. kid — child
  23. bay — a horse colour
  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