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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. deal — to handle
  3. degree — an amount
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. degree — temperature
  9. drill — army training
  10. rash — hasty
  11. rash — a series
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. drill — a practice
  17. degree — from a university
  18. tear — from crying
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. tear — from crying
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. tear — to rip
  24. drill — the tool

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