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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 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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. tear — from crying
  3. toast — bread
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. file — a line of people
  6. club — for dancing
  7. deal — to handle
  8. toast — the most admired
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. rock — a stone
  11. rock — music
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. degree — an amount
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. degree — from a university
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. club — for golf
  18. tear — from crying
  19. tear — to rip
  20. toast — a drink to someone
  21. file — a document
  22. club — a group
  23. file — a tool
  24. degree — temperature

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