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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  8. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  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 — child
  2. net — for catching
  3. net — in sport
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. degree — from a university
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. safe — a strongbox
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. bat — the animal
  10. plane — a tool
  11. net — after costs
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. degree — an amount
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. kid — to tease
  23. nail — for a hammer
  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