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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. spring — of water
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. spring — the season
  6. content — the amount
  7. press — a publisher
  8. degree — from a university
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. press — newspapers
  12. scale — size or range
  13. spring — a coil
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. scale — in music
  16. press — to push
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. degree — temperature
  20. content — happy
  21. pound — a weight
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. degree — an amount
  24. hide — animal skin

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