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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  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 — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. club — for golf
  3. scale — size or range
  4. kid — to tease
  5. scale — in music
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. kid — child
  8. sharp — clever
  9. club — a group
  10. degree — from a university
  11. wound — an injury
  12. club — for dancing
  13. bore — to tire
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. degree — an amount
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. wound — an injury
  20. bore — to drill
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  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