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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. fine — all right
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. spring — a coil
  7. pop — music
  8. spring — of water
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. pop — to visit
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. pop — soda
  15. fine — high quality
  16. object — to protest
  17. degree — temperature
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. object — a thing
  20. spring — the season
  21. degree — an amount
  22. object — an aim
  23. lie — to recline
  24. degree — from a university

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