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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. shower — rain
  5. can — to be able to
  6. shower — to wash
  7. ball — a dance
  8. degree — temperature
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. can — a tin
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. last — final
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. last — to go on
  15. degree — an amount
  16. cell — in biology
  17. cell — a phone
  18. can — a tin
  19. last — finally
  20. ball — a great time
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. game — a match
  24. game — wild animals

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