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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 116 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
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: staff · tube · degree · track · hide · bore · field · shower

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. bore — to tire
  3. degree — from a university
  4. degree — temperature
  5. field — a subject
  6. shower — to wash
  7. shower — rain
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. track — to keep track
  11. field — for sport
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. tube — the underground
  14. field — farmland
  15. track — a path
  16. staff — employees
  17. staff — a stick
  18. tube — a container
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. degree — an amount
  21. track — a song
  22. staff — employees
  23. bore — to drill
  24. tube — in a tire

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