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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. stand — to bear
  3. sharp — clever
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. degree — temperature
  8. rash — hasty
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. degree — an amount
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. rash — a series
  13. degree — from a university
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. scale — in music
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. scale — size or range
  24. mine — for digging

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