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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 120 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: wind · stand · clip · fork · hide · sharp · degree · rush

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. sharp — clever
  3. clip — to cut
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. stand — to bear
  6. wind — moving air
  7. degree — an amount
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. degree — temperature
  10. fork — in a road
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. degree — from a university
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. rush — hurry
  21. wind — moving air
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. clip — for paper
  24. sharp — with an edge

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