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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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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 · pound · clip · cell · hide · present · cap · court

  1. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. degree — an amount
  3. cap — a lid
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. cap — a hat
  6. cap — of ice
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. clip — for paper
  9. present — a gift
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. cell — a phone
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. degree — from a university
  14. pound — a weight
  15. court — for sport
  16. clip — to cut
  17. clip — a video
  18. court — of law
  19. court — of a king
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. degree — temperature
  22. cell — in biology
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. present — there

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