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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. degree — an amount
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. degree — from a university
  5. lean — to bend
  6. ground — a position
  7. mug — a cup
  8. field — farmland
  9. mate — a partner
  10. wind — moving air
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. ground — crushed
  13. field — a subject
  14. wind — moving air
  15. mate — a friend
  16. mate — to breed
  17. lean — thin
  18. ground — the earth
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. mug — a face
  21. field — for sport
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. degree — temperature
  24. hide — to keep secret

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