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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. wind — moving air
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. mug — to rob
  7. prune — to trim
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. mug — a face
  10. wind — moving air
  11. degree — an amount
  12. degree — from a university
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. perch — the fish
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. degree — temperature
  20. branch — a division
  21. prune — to trim
  22. kid — child
  23. kid — to tease
  24. mug — a cup

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