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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. mate — to breed
  3. plane — a tool
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. mate — a partner
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. degree — an amount
  11. content — the amount
  12. mate — a friend
  13. bark — to shout
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. degree — from a university
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. mine — for digging
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. degree — temperature
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. kid — to tease
  22. kid — child
  23. content — happy
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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