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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. kid — to tease
  3. wind — moving air
  4. capital — a city
  5. capital — money
  6. tube — a container
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. degree — an amount
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. degree — from a university
  11. wind — moving air
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. bound — tied together
  14. bound — certain
  15. degree — temperature
  16. bound — obliged
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. kid — child
  19. pop — music
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. pop — soda
  23. tube — the underground
  24. pop — to visit

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