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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. file — a tool
  3. degree — an amount
  4. file — a line of people
  5. tear — from crying
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. degree — from a university
  9. degree — temperature
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. file — a document
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. stock — shares
  16. bear — the animal
  17. bear — the animal
  18. tear — to rip
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. stock — goods
  24. tear — from crying

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