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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.

Make a worksheet

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: fan · temple · clip · hand · chest · hide · cabinet · degree

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. hand — help
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. chest — of your body
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. clip — to cut
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. degree — an amount
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. degree — from a university
  16. chest — of your body
  17. clip — a video
  18. clip — for paper
  19. chest — a box
  20. degree — temperature
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. hand — in cards
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. fan — to cool the air

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