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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. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. kid — child
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. prune — to trim
  5. degree — an amount
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. degree — from a university
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. face — to confront
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. ruler — a monarch
  13. prune — to trim
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. face — to point toward
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. kid — to tease
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. wax — to grow
  20. dip — to sink
  21. degree — temperature
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. face — part of the head
  24. ruler — for measuring

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