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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. cold — not warm
  6. cold — an illness
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. degree — temperature
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. prune — to trim
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. degree — from a university
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. wake — a trail
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. chip — to eat
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. prune — to trim
  23. degree — an amount
  24. chip — for betting

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