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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. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. plane — a tool
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. degree — temperature
  6. wound — an injury
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. fall — to drop
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. fall — to drop
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. ball — a great time
  13. degree — an amount
  14. ground — crushed
  15. wound — an injury
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. fall — the season
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. ground — a position
  20. ground — the earth
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. degree — from a university
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. calf — of the leg

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