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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 124 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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. rush — hurry
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. shower — to wash
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. degree — from a university
  9. dip — to sink
  10. can — a tin
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. degree — temperature
  15. wake — a trail
  16. can — a tin
  17. shower — rain
  18. last — to go on
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. last — finally
  23. last — final
  24. can — to be able to

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