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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.

Words on the sheet
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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 · cold · can · staff · degree · spell · squash · prune

  1. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. staff — employees
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. spell — magic
  5. squash — the sport
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. degree — from a university
  8. degree — temperature
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. prune — to trim
  11. prune — to trim
  12. can — a tin
  13. cold — not warm
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. spell — a short time
  16. degree — an amount
  17. squash — to crush
  18. can — to be able to
  19. spell — letters
  20. can — a tin
  21. staff — a stick
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. cold — an illness
  24. staff — employees

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