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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: ground · tear · wave · rule · mouse · fall · degree · hide

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. tear — from crying
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. ground — crushed
  5. fall — to drop
  6. fall — the season
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. ground — the earth
  9. rule — government
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. degree — from a university
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. degree — temperature
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. fall — to drop
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. rule — a law
  20. tear — from crying
  21. tear — to rip
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. ground — a position

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