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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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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 · stick · hide · wind · pass · clip · court · mouse

  1. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. clip — a video
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. clip — for paper
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. degree — temperature
  7. court — of law
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. wind — moving air
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. court — of a king
  13. wind — moving air
  14. court — for sport
  15. pass — a permit
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. degree — an amount
  20. clip — to cut
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. degree — from a university
  24. hide — animal skin

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