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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. ground — crushed
  3. spring — a coil
  4. staff — employees
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. track — to keep track
  7. ground — the earth
  8. spring — of water
  9. spring — the season
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. degree — an amount
  13. staff — a stick
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. track — a path
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. staff — employees
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. degree — temperature
  20. mine — for digging
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. track — a song
  23. ground — a position
  24. degree — from a university

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