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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. land — ground
  3. bore — to tire
  4. ground — the earth
  5. kid — child
  6. degree — temperature
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. ground — a position
  9. bound — certain
  10. bound — tied together
  11. present — there
  12. degree — an amount
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. bore — to drill
  16. ground — crushed
  17. land — a country
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. present — the time now
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. land — to come down
  22. present — a gift
  23. degree — from a university
  24. bound — obliged

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