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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: nail · prune · bay · degree · swing · mate · hide · shower

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. My mare is ________________ in color.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. mate — a friend
  4. prune — to trim
  5. prune — to trim
  6. degree — from a university
  7. swing — music
  8. shower — to wash
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. degree — an amount
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. swing — to play on
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. mate — a partner
  17. swing — in golf
  18. mate — to breed
  19. degree — temperature
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. shower — rain
  24. bay — a horse colour

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