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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. mug — a cup
  4. land — ground
  5. wound — an injury
  6. ground — crushed
  7. mark — a trace
  8. degree — an amount
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. land — to come down
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. degree — temperature
  14. mug — to rob
  15. ground — a position
  16. land — a country
  17. game — wild animals
  18. mug — a face
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. ground — the earth
  21. game — a match
  22. mark — a grade
  23. degree — from a university
  24. wound — an injury

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