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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 have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. court — of a king
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. court — of law
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. kid — child
  11. degree — from a university
  12. sharp — clever
  13. saw — the tool
  14. prune — to trim
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. saw — the tool
  17. pound — a weight
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. degree — an amount
  20. prune — to trim
  21. degree — temperature
  22. kid — to tease
  23. court — for sport
  24. pound — for dogs

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