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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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468
Word bank
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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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. cap — a hat
  3. degree — temperature
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. drill — the tool
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. drill — a practice
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. degree — an amount
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. cap — a lid
  14. rest — what's left
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. degree — from a university
  17. cap — of ice
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. chair — a leader
  21. rest — what's left
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. drill — army training
  24. rest — a break

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