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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  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. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. kick — in football
  3. key — for a lock
  4. degree — from a university
  5. degree — an amount
  6. content — the amount
  7. key — in music
  8. kid — to tease
  9. kid — child
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. degree — temperature
  13. content — happy
  14. land — a country
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. key — the most important part
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. land — ground
  21. rush — hurry
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. land — to come down
  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