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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.

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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. kid — to tease
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. degree — temperature
  5. bound — certain
  6. bound — tied together
  7. land — ground
  8. press — a publisher
  9. land — to come down
  10. degree — an amount
  11. bound — obliged
  12. land — a country
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. press — newspapers
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. press — to push
  17. wax — to grow
  18. degree — from a university

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