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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. land — to come down
  3. land — ground
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. mug — to rob
  7. wound — an injury
  8. land — a country
  9. ball — a great time
  10. ball — a dance
  11. mug — a cup
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. wound — an injury
  17. degree — temperature
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. degree — from a university
  20. mug — a face
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. hide — animal skin

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