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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. hand — help
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. degree — an amount
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. hand — in cards
  8. shower — to wash
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. key — for a lock
  12. wound — an injury
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. degree — from a university
  15. wound — an injury
  16. degree — temperature
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. key — the most important part
  19. toast — the most admired
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. key — in music
  22. shower — rain
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. toast — bread

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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