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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. spring — a coil
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. degree — an amount
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. cap — a hat
  9. degree — from a university
  10. object — a thing
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. cap — of ice
  14. cap — a lid
  15. degree — temperature
  16. spring — of water
  17. object — to protest
  18. spring — the season
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. chair — a leader
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. date — the fruit
  23. object — an aim
  24. chair — to sit 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