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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. bay — a part of the sea
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. cold — not warm
  6. kid — child
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. bank — for money
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. rest — what's left
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. bank — of a river
  13. rest — a break
  14. rest — what's left
  15. degree — from a university
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. fork — in a road
  18. kid — to tease
  19. bank — for money
  20. cold — an illness
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. degree — temperature
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. calf — a young animal

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