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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 124 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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. degree — temperature
  3. staff — employees
  4. degree — from a university
  5. staff — a stick
  6. degree — an amount
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. prune — to trim
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. file — a document
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. track — a path
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. prune — to trim
  15. kid — to tease
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. track — to keep track
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. staff — employees
  21. file — a line of people
  22. file — a tool
  23. kid — child
  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