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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. drill — a practice
  4. wound — an injury
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. pound — a weight
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. degree — temperature
  9. drill — the tool
  10. wound — an injury
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. degree — an amount
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. press — to push
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. drill — army training
  19. craft — a skill
  20. craft — boats
  21. press — newspapers
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. press — a publisher

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