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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. degree — an amount
  3. lean — thin
  4. game — wild animals
  5. present — the time now
  6. wind — moving air
  7. present — there
  8. wind — moving air
  9. tube — the underground
  10. degree — from a university
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. lean — to bend
  13. present — a gift
  14. degree — temperature
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. game — a match
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. tube — a container
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. shower — to wash
  24. shower — rain

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