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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. chip — to eat
  4. degree — temperature
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. file — a document
  7. file — a line of people
  8. chip — for betting
  9. press — to push
  10. fall — to drop
  11. press — a publisher
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. file — a tool
  15. kid — child
  16. degree — an amount
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. fall — to drop
  19. kid — to tease
  20. fall — the season
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. press — newspapers
  23. degree — from a university
  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