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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. degree — temperature
  4. tube — a container
  5. last — to go on
  6. tube — the underground
  7. last — final
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. kick — in football
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. pop — soda
  13. degree — an amount
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. pop — music
  16. dip — to sink
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. kid — to tease
  22. last — finally
  23. degree — from a university
  24. pop — to visit

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