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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. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. shower — to wash
  4. shower — rain
  5. present — there
  6. degree — temperature
  7. degree — from a university
  8. cell — a phone
  9. file — a tool
  10. file — a document
  11. degree — an amount
  12. file — a line of people
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. present — a gift
  15. cell — in biology
  16. dip — to sink
  17. pitch — completely
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. hide — animal skin

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