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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: degree · key · wave · cap · hide · clip · track · arm

  1. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. degree — from a university
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. key — in music
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. key — the most important part
  8. cap — a hat
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. track — a song
  12. clip — for paper
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. clip — to cut
  15. clip — a video
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. key — for a lock
  18. degree — temperature
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. track — to keep track
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. track — a path
  23. cap — of ice
  24. degree — an amount

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