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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. degree — temperature
  3. degree — from a university
  4. net — after costs
  5. charge — in control
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. game — a match
  8. mate — a friend
  9. mate — a partner
  10. charge — electricity
  11. spell — a short time
  12. net — in sport
  13. spring — a coil
  14. charge — a price
  15. mate — to breed
  16. net — for catching
  17. game — wild animals
  18. spring — the season
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. spell — magic
  21. spring — of water
  22. degree — an amount
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. spell — letters

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