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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. degree — from a university
  4. bass — the fish
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. kick — in football
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. kid — child
  10. kid — to tease
  11. degree — temperature
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. bound — tied together
  14. bound — certain
  15. bear — the animal
  16. bound — obliged
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. pit — a hole
  20. bass — low music
  21. bear — the animal
  22. pit — in a race
  23. foot — a measure
  24. kick — with a leg

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