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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. We're on a ________________ here.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. My mare is ________________ in color.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — on a roll
  2. degree — an amount
  3. shower — to wash
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. degree — temperature
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. roll — a cake
  9. kid — child
  10. roll — a list
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. bark — to shout
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. shower — rain
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. bay — a horse colour
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. kid — to tease
  23. degree — from a university
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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