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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. degree — from a university
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. spell — magic
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. fall — to drop
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. fall — the season
  12. degree — an amount
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. degree — temperature
  15. drill — the tool
  16. drill — a practice
  17. spell — letters
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. drill — army training
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. fall — to drop
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. spell — a short time

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