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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. drill — a practice
  3. row — to paddle
  4. drill — army training
  5. file — a document
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. drill — the tool
  8. season — in sport
  9. degree — from a university
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. bass — the fish
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. degree — temperature
  14. bass — low music
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. degree — an amount
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. row — a line
  19. season — of the year
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. file — a tool
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. file — a line of people

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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