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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. bound — certain
  5. row — to paddle
  6. bank — for money
  7. row — a line
  8. degree — temperature
  9. bound — tied together
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. sharp — clever
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. bat — the animal
  15. bound — obliged
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. pop — soda
  18. degree — an amount
  19. degree — from a university
  20. pop — to visit
  21. pop — music
  22. bank — of a river
  23. bank — for money
  24. sharp — with an edge

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