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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. mate — a partner
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. degree — from a university
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. scale — size or range
  10. degree — temperature
  11. scale — in music
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. bark — to shout
  14. stand — to bear
  15. chair — a leader
  16. mate — to breed
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. degree — an amount
  20. mate — a friend
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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