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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. rash — a series
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. spring — a coil
  7. degree — an amount
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. degree — temperature
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. bulb — for light
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. spring — of water
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. bulb — for light
  17. rash — hasty
  18. bat — the animal
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. degree — from a university
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. spring — the season
  24. kid — to tease

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