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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.

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: shower · racket · key · rash · chair · degree · ball · hide

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. key — the most important part
  4. key — for a lock
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. key — in music
  7. degree — temperature
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. rash — a series
  10. rash — hasty
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. ball — a great time
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. shower — rain
  16. ball — a dance
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. shower — to wash
  19. degree — an amount
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. degree — from a university
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. chair — a leader

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