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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 120 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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. field — farmland
  4. spell — magic
  5. field — for sport
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. tube — a container
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. current — electric
  10. current — of water
  11. current — happening now
  12. spell — a short time
  13. degree — from a university
  14. field — a subject
  15. degree — an amount
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. tube — the underground
  19. spell — letters
  20. kid — child
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. degree — temperature
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. kid — to tease

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