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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. stem — to come from
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. degree — an amount
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. rash — hasty
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. degree — from a university
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. degree — temperature
  13. chest — of your body
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. rash — a series
  16. rush — hurry
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. chest — a box
  19. chest — of your body
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. lie — to recline
  24. lie — an untruth

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