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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. wound — an injury
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. vault — a safe
  8. stock — shares
  9. spring — a coil
  10. wound — an injury
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. stock — goods
  13. plane — a tool
  14. dip — to sink
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. spring — of water
  18. degree — from a university
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. degree — an amount
  22. degree — temperature
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. spring — the season

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