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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 116 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. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. can — a tin
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. press — to push
  5. rash — hasty
  6. can — a tin
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. rash — a series
  9. wind — moving air
  10. wind — moving air
  11. degree — from a university
  12. shower — to wash
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. shower — rain
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. can — to be able to
  18. row — a line
  19. row — to paddle
  20. press — newspapers
  21. press — a publisher
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. degree — temperature
  24. degree — an amount

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