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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 124 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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. cap — a hat
  3. current — of water
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. kid — to tease
  6. cap — of ice
  7. current — happening now
  8. race — the arms race
  9. kid — child
  10. degree — an amount
  11. chest — of your body
  12. degree — from a university
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. race — a contest
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. perch — the fish
  18. cap — a lid
  19. chest — of your body
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. chest — a box
  22. race — humankind
  23. current — electric
  24. degree — temperature

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