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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 120 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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. staff — employees
  3. saw — the tool
  4. root — of a plant
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. root — the cause
  7. saw — the tool
  8. degree — temperature
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. last — final
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. kid — child
  13. kid — to tease
  14. degree — an amount
  15. degree — from a university
  16. staff — a stick
  17. club — a group
  18. club — for dancing
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. staff — employees
  21. root — of a word
  22. last — finally
  23. club — for golf
  24. last — to go on

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