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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. degree — from a university
  3. track — a song
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. chest — a box
  6. mug — to rob
  7. mine — for digging
  8. mug — a face
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. track — to keep track
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. degree — temperature
  15. degree — an amount
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. chest — of your body
  20. chest — of your body
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. mug — a cup
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. track — a path

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