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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. bear — the animal
  4. kick — in football
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. fork — in a road
  8. degree — from a university
  9. wind — moving air
  10. wind — moving air
  11. kid — child
  12. degree — temperature
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. degree — an amount
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. bear — the animal

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