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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. game — wild animals
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. pass — to spend time
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. mate — a partner
  11. cold — not warm
  12. game — a match
  13. pitch — completely
  14. mate — to breed
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. pass — a permit
  17. degree — from a university
  18. pass — to succeed
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. degree — temperature
  21. cold — an illness
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. degree — an amount
  24. mate — a friend

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