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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. degree — temperature
  4. staff — employees
  5. dip — to sink
  6. spell — a short time
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. staff — employees
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. cue — a signal
  12. degree — an amount
  13. kid — child
  14. cue — a hint
  15. net — after costs
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. cue — for pool
  18. degree — from a university
  19. net — in sport
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. spell — magic
  22. staff — a stick
  23. net — for catching
  24. kid — to tease

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