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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. row — a line
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. degree — temperature
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. cue — a hint
  9. cue — a signal
  10. cue — for pool
  11. mine — for digging
  12. degree — from a university
  13. wake — a trail
  14. degree — an amount
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. shower — rain
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. row — to paddle
  19. shower — to wash
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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