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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. degree — from a university
  3. net — for catching
  4. rock — a stone
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. spring — a coil
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. spring — the season
  9. net — in sport
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. stand — to bear
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. rock — music
  14. bore — to tire
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. wound — an injury
  18. degree — an amount
  19. bore — to drill
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. wound — an injury
  22. degree — temperature
  23. net — after costs
  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