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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. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. degree — an amount
  3. saw — the tool
  4. bore — to tire
  5. mine — for digging
  6. degree — from a university
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. shower — rain
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. saw — the tool
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. lie — to recline
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. degree — temperature
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. bore — to drill
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. bass — low music
  24. shower — to wash

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