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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. cap — a lid
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. chip — to eat
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. plane — a tool
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. cell — a phone
  12. chip — for betting
  13. degree — temperature
  14. shower — rain
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. kid — child
  17. cap — a hat
  18. shower — to wash
  19. degree — from a university
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. cell — in biology
  22. cap — of ice
  23. degree — an amount
  24. foot — a measure

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