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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: rush · net · leaves · hide · degree · chest

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. 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. rush — hurry
  2. net — in sport
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. net — for catching
  5. chest — a box
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. degree — from a university
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. chest — of your body
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. net — after costs
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. chest — of your body
  15. degree — temperature
  16. degree — an amount
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. 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