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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. cold — an illness
  6. rest — what's left
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. current — electric
  9. current — of water
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. pop — to visit
  12. cold — not warm
  13. degree — temperature
  14. rest — what's left
  15. pop — music
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. degree — an amount
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. degree — from a university
  21. pop — soda
  22. dip — to sink
  23. rest — a break
  24. current — happening now

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