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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. degree — an amount
  3. bore — to tire
  4. spring — the season
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. wound — an injury
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. degree — temperature
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. spring — a coil
  15. net — after costs
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. net — for catching
  18. degree — from a university
  19. bore — to drill
  20. wound — an injury
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. spring — of water
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. net — in sport

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