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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. perch — the fish
  3. swing — to play on
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. degree — from a university
  6. tube — a container
  7. net — in sport
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. tube — the underground
  10. net — after costs
  11. degree — temperature
  12. net — for catching
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. degree — an amount
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. swing — music
  19. swing — in golf
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. tube — in a tire

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