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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: mine · degree · row · rest · content · wave · pit · hide

  1. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. rest — what's left
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. content — the amount
  6. degree — from a university
  7. mine — for digging
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. row — a line
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. rest — a break
  12. degree — an amount
  13. rest — what's left
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. degree — temperature
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. row — to paddle
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. content — happy
  21. pit — a hole
  22. pit — in a race
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. wave — with your hand

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