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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  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. kid — to tease
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. face — part of the head
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. season — of the year
  9. face — to confront
  10. season — in sport
  11. shower — rain
  12. shower — to wash
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. kid — child
  15. degree — from a university
  16. deal — to handle
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. pop — music
  20. pop — soda
  21. face — to point toward
  22. degree — an amount
  23. pop — to visit
  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