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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. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. rule — a law
  3. perch — the fish
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. degree — from a university
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. spell — letters
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. deal — to handle
  11. degree — temperature
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. kid — child
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. spell — magic
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. spell — a short time
  21. kid — to tease
  22. rule — government
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. degree — an amount

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