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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. prune — to trim
  4. prune — to trim
  5. degree — from a university
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. cap — a hat
  10. cap — of ice
  11. degree — an amount
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. band — a music group
  14. degree — temperature
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. cap — a lid
  17. band — a ring
  18. pitcher — a jug

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