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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 120 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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. degree — temperature
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. degree — an amount
  6. land — ground
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. land — to come down
  10. bore — to tire
  11. cue — a signal
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. snap — to click
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. bear — the animal
  18. cue — for pool
  19. cue — a hint
  20. degree — from a university
  21. chair — a leader
  22. bore — to drill
  23. land — a country
  24. bear — the animal

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