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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: hide · lean · board · stock · clip · press · hand · degree

  1. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. clip — to cut
  4. stock — shares
  5. lean — to bend
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. board — a committee
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. degree — temperature
  12. board — to get on
  13. press — a publisher
  14. hand — help
  15. degree — an amount
  16. press — newspapers
  17. clip — a video
  18. hand — in cards
  19. lean — thin
  20. press — to push
  21. clip — for paper
  22. stock — goods
  23. degree — from a university
  24. board — a flat piece

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