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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  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. degree — an amount
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. pit — a hole
  4. mug — a face
  5. cap — a hat
  6. chest — of your body
  7. pit — in a race
  8. stem — to come from
  9. mug — to rob
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. chest — of your body
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. cap — of ice
  14. degree — temperature
  15. bear — the animal
  16. cap — a lid
  17. bear — the animal
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. chest — a box
  22. degree — from a university
  23. mug — a cup
  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