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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. cell — a phone
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. rush — hurry
  8. object — a thing
  9. degree — an amount
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. degree — from a university
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. degree — temperature
  15. object — an aim
  16. cell — in biology
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. object — to protest

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