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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. hand — help
  4. fall — to drop
  5. season — of the year
  6. degree — from a university
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. ruler — a monarch
  9. season — in sport
  10. fall — to drop
  11. present — the time now
  12. present — there
  13. hand — in cards
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. degree — an amount
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. bat — the animal
  19. present — a gift
  20. degree — temperature
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. fall — the season

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