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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  23. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  24. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. degree — an amount
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. file — a line of people
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. file — a tool
  9. degree — from a university
  10. file — a document
  11. wind — moving air
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. mine — for digging
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. degree — temperature
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. wind — moving air
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. firm — steady
  23. firm — a company
  24. firm — decided

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