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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 120 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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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 — from a university
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. kid — to tease
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. bark — to shout
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. ground — a position
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. bound — tied together
  12. degree — temperature
  13. press — to push
  14. degree — an amount
  15. bound — obliged
  16. ground — crushed
  17. bound — certain
  18. vault — a safe
  19. sharp — clever
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. press — a publisher
  22. ground — the earth
  23. kid — child
  24. press — newspapers

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