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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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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: hide · dip · chip · wound · degree · cap · season · rest

  1. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. degree — an amount
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. cap — a hat
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. chip — to eat
  8. chip — for betting
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. rest — what's left
  11. wound — an injury
  12. cap — of ice
  13. cap — a lid
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. rest — a break
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. degree — temperature
  18. season — in sport
  19. wound — an injury
  20. rest — what's left
  21. season — of the year
  22. degree — from a university
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. dip — to sink

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