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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: degree · clip · fork · arm · hide · squash · rock · ball

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. clip — a video
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. clip — for paper
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. rock — a stone
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. ball — a dance
  13. degree — an amount
  14. ball — a great time
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. degree — from a university
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. squash — to crush
  21. degree — temperature
  22. rock — music
  23. clip — to cut
  24. fork — in a road

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