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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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. perch — for a bird
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. degree — temperature
  11. scale — size or range
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. perch — the fish
  14. hand — in cards
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. pound — a weight
  17. hand — help
  18. degree — an amount
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. dip — to sink
  21. scale — in music
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. calf — a young animal

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