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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. staff — a stick
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. degree — from a university
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. bark — to shout
  10. rest — what's left
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. degree — temperature
  14. lie — to recline
  15. degree — an amount
  16. staff — employees
  17. rest — what's left
  18. staff — employees
  19. tube — the underground
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. content — happy
  22. tube — a container
  23. rest — a break
  24. content — the amount

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