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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. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — a stone
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. fall — to drop
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. rock — music
  6. chip — to eat
  7. chip — for betting
  8. spell — letters
  9. degree — temperature
  10. row — a line
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. race — humankind
  13. degree — an amount
  14. spell — magic
  15. fall — to drop
  16. row — to paddle
  17. race — a contest
  18. race — the arms race
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. spell — a short time
  21. degree — from a university
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. fall — the season
  24. row — a quarrel

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