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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 · sharp · hide · court · rest · clip · charge · cap

  1. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. clip — a video
  3. court — for sport
  4. degree — an amount
  5. court — of a king
  6. sharp — clever
  7. court — of law
  8. clip — for paper
  9. degree — from a university
  10. charge — electricity
  11. charge — in control
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. rest — a break
  15. clip — to cut
  16. rest — what's left
  17. rest — what's left
  18. cap — of ice
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. cap — a lid
  21. charge — a price
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. degree — temperature
  24. cap — a hat

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