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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: present · cap · clip · dip · swing · mug · degree · lie

  1. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. clip — a video
  3. degree — an amount
  4. cap — of ice
  5. swing — music
  6. degree — temperature
  7. degree — from a university
  8. mug — a cup
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. swing — in golf
  11. present — a gift
  12. present — the time now
  13. swing — to play on
  14. mug — to rob
  15. clip — to cut
  16. mug — a face
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. dip — to sink
  19. clip — for paper
  20. cap — a hat
  21. lie — to recline
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. cap — a lid

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