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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. face — to confront
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. degree — temperature
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. degree — an amount
  10. deal — to handle
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. degree — from a university
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. face — to point toward
  16. shower — rain
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. face — part of the head
  21. shower — to wash
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  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