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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
468
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 · coach · clip · kick · face · degree · nail · scale

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. scale — size or range
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. clip — for paper
  5. kick — in football
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. degree — an amount
  11. face — to confront
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. degree — from a university
  15. face — part of the head
  16. degree — temperature
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. face — to point toward
  22. scale — in music
  23. clip — to cut
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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