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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. firm — a company
  3. board — a committee
  4. wind — moving air
  5. ball — a great time
  6. board — to get on
  7. firm — steady
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. firm — decided
  11. wind — moving air
  12. degree — temperature
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. degree — from a university
  15. saw — the tool
  16. ball — a dance
  17. saw — the tool
  18. pitch — completely
  19. degree — an amount
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. hide — to keep secret

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