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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. degree — temperature
  3. degree — from a university
  4. mine — for digging
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. dip — to sink
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. rock — a stone
  11. wind — moving air
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. degree — an amount
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. bat — the animal
  21. wind — moving air
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. rock — music

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