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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. degree — from a university
  3. shower — rain
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. file — a tool
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. craft — a skill
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. rule — government
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. degree — an amount
  12. file — a document
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. rule — a law
  15. file — a line of people
  16. craft — boats
  17. shower — to wash
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. rash — a series
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. rash — hasty
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. degree — temperature
  24. hide — animal skin

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