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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. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. drill — army training
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. degree — from a university
  6. can — to be able to
  7. fine — all right
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. degree — temperature
  10. kid — to tease
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. fine — high quality
  13. degree — an amount
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. court — for sport
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. can — a tin
  18. court — of a king
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. drill — the tool
  21. drill — a practice
  22. can — a tin
  23. kid — child
  24. court — of law

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