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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.

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: charge · rash · degree · mine · hide · prune · wind · spring

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. degree — from a university
  3. wind — moving air
  4. rash — hasty
  5. rash — a series
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. spring — the season
  8. degree — temperature
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. wind — moving air
  11. charge — in control
  12. mine — for digging
  13. prune — to trim
  14. charge — electricity
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. spring — of water
  18. charge — a price
  19. prune — to trim
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. degree — an amount
  22. spring — a coil
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. hide — animal skin

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