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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. degree — from a university
  5. foot — a measure
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. cap — a lid
  9. present — a gift
  10. kid — to tease
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. craft — a skill
  13. degree — an amount
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. cap — of ice
  16. craft — boats
  17. present — there
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. cold — not warm
  20. cold — an illness
  21. present — the time now
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. cap — a hat
  24. degree — temperature

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