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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. My mare is ________________ in color.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. file — a tool
  3. tear — from crying
  4. pound — a weight
  5. kid — to tease
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. degree — from a university
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. kid — child
  10. tear — from crying
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. sharp — clever
  15. file — a line of people
  16. file — a document
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. tear — to rip
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. bay — a horse colour
  24. degree — an amount

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