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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. kid — to tease
  3. face — to point toward
  4. face — to confront
  5. face — part of the head
  6. degree — temperature
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. object — to protest
  9. degree — from a university
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. object — an aim
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. degree — an amount
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. bound — tied together
  17. object — a thing
  18. kid — child
  19. club — for dancing
  20. bound — certain
  21. bound — obliged
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. club — a group
  24. club — for golf

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