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

Word bank: present · hide · swing · ruler · wound · degree · tube · snap

  1. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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. ruler — a monarch
  4. tube — the underground
  5. tube — a container
  6. wound — an injury
  7. present — the time now
  8. present — a gift
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. degree — temperature
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. swing — music
  15. snap — to click
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. present — there
  19. wound — an injury
  20. swing — to play on
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. swing — in golf
  23. degree — an amount
  24. degree — from a university

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