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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. degree — an amount
  3. rash — hasty
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. roll — a list
  6. file — a tool
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. file — a line of people
  10. file — a document
  11. kid — to tease
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. degree — temperature
  14. roll — a cake
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. degree — from a university
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. rash — a series
  19. bulb — for light
  20. kid — child
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. bulb — for light
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. roll — on a roll

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