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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 was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. tear — from crying
  3. degree — from a university
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. spring — the season
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. spring — a coil
  9. track — a path
  10. degree — temperature
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. bulb — for light
  13. tear — to rip
  14. snap — to click
  15. track — to keep track
  16. bulb — for light
  17. degree — an amount
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. tear — from crying
  20. spring — of water
  21. track — a song
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. bowl — to roll

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