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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. last — finally
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. kid — child
  10. degree — an amount
  11. saw — the tool
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. court — of a king
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. court — for sport
  17. court — of law
  18. saw — the tool
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. last — to go on
  21. kid — to tease
  22. degree — from a university
  23. last — final
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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