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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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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. wax — in the ear
  4. wax — to grow
  5. key — for a lock
  6. stem — to come from
  7. present — a gift
  8. degree — temperature
  9. net — in sport
  10. net — for catching
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. present — the time now
  13. mine — for digging
  14. degree — an amount
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. net — after costs
  20. key — the most important part
  21. key — in music
  22. degree — from a university
  23. present — there
  24. wax — for sculpting

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