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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. ground — crushed
  7. degree — from a university
  8. ground — a position
  9. ground — the earth
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. degree — an amount
  12. degree — temperature
  13. bank — of a river
  14. plane — a tool
  15. bank — for money
  16. perch — the fish
  17. file — a tool
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. kick — in football
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. file — a document
  22. bank — for money
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. file — a line of people

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