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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. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. race — a contest
  4. present — there
  5. present — the time now
  6. bass — low music
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. row — a line
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. row — to paddle
  11. ball — a dance
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. degree — from a university
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. degree — temperature
  16. ball — a great time
  17. present — a gift
  18. race — the arms race
  19. degree — an amount
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. race — humankind
  22. bass — the fish
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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