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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. land — a country
  3. mine — for digging
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. degree — temperature
  6. cue — for pool
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. scale — in music
  9. degree — an amount
  10. degree — from a university
  11. cue — a hint
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. shower — to wash
  14. scale — size or range
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. cue — a signal
  17. land — to come down
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. shower — rain
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. mine — an explosive

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