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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. ground — a position
  3. craft — a skill
  4. degree — an amount
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. rush — hurry
  7. ground — the earth
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. degree — temperature
  10. kid — to tease
  11. wound — an injury
  12. ground — crushed
  13. degree — from a university
  14. chip — for betting
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. face — part of the head
  17. craft — boats
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. face — to point toward
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. chip — to eat
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. wound — an injury
  24. face — to confront

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