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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's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. mine — for digging
  3. land — to come down
  4. land — ground
  5. tube — a container
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. shower — to wash
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. land — a country
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. degree — from a university
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. shower — rain
  16. tube — the underground
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. degree — temperature
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. degree — an amount
  24. hide — to keep secret

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