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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  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. hide — animal skin
  2. file — a line of people
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. last — final
  5. last — to go on
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. degree — temperature
  8. present — there
  9. file — a tool
  10. degree — an amount
  11. file — a document
  12. last — finally
  13. chip — to eat
  14. present — the time now
  15. cap — of ice
  16. chair — a leader
  17. degree — from a university
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. present — a gift
  20. cap — a hat
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. chip — for betting
  23. cap — a lid
  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