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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 116 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. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. tear — from crying
  5. degree — from a university
  6. degree — temperature
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. tear — to rip
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. degree — an amount
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. scale — in music
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. scale — size or range
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. tear — from crying
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. saw — the tool
  22. dip — to sink
  23. saw — the tool
  24. nail — for a hammer

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