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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. rock — music
  3. cap — of ice
  4. hand — in cards
  5. mate — a partner
  6. kid — child
  7. degree — an amount
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. degree — from a university
  10. root — of a word
  11. mate — a friend
  12. root — of a plant
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. degree — temperature
  15. hand — help
  16. kid — to tease
  17. cap — a hat
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. root — the cause
  20. mate — to breed
  21. rock — a stone
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. cap — a lid

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