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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. When will it ________________ you to start?
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. degree — an amount
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. land — ground
  5. land — a country
  6. lean — thin
  7. lean — to bend
  8. degree — from a university
  9. court — of law
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. rash — hasty
  13. suit — to fit
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. court — for sport
  16. suit — clothes
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. shower — rain
  19. rash — a series
  20. court — of a king
  21. land — to come down
  22. degree — temperature
  23. suit — in cards
  24. hide — to keep secret

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