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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.

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: degree · lean · chest · clip · mine · bay · can · cue

  1. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. degree — temperature
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. bay — to keep at bay
  5. mine — for digging
  6. cue — a hint
  7. chest — of your body
  8. can — a tin
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. chest — a box
  11. cue — a signal
  12. degree — from a university
  13. lean — thin
  14. cue — for pool
  15. clip — for paper
  16. can — a tin
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. clip — a video
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. degree — an amount
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. chest — of your body
  23. clip — to cut
  24. lean — to bend

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