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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. When will it ________________ you to start?
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. kid — child
  3. spell — letters
  4. fall — the season
  5. spell — magic
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. degree — temperature
  8. fall — to drop
  9. sharp — clever
  10. degree — an amount
  11. suit — in cards
  12. spell — a short time
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. shower — rain
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. kid — to tease
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. degree — from a university
  20. suit — clothes
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. suit — to fit
  23. shower — to wash
  24. fall — to drop

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