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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've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. kid — to tease
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. charge — electricity
  7. charge — a price
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. wound — an injury
  10. tear — from crying
  11. bark — to shout
  12. wound — an injury
  13. tear — to rip
  14. charge — in control
  15. degree — temperature
  16. degree — an amount
  17. bore — to drill
  18. bore — to tire
  19. ground — the earth
  20. tear — from crying
  21. ground — crushed
  22. kid — child
  23. degree — from a university
  24. ground — a position

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