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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. bear — the animal
  3. cold — an illness
  4. degree — temperature
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. saw — the tool
  8. cold — not warm
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. degree — an amount
  11. degree — from a university
  12. staff — employees
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. stem — to come from
  16. staff — employees
  17. tube — a container
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. staff — a stick
  21. bear — the animal
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. tube — the underground

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