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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. pop — music
  4. degree — temperature
  5. pop — to visit
  6. kid — to tease
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. bound — obliged
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. bound — tied together
  13. bark — to shout
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. pop — soda
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. kid — child
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. degree — an amount
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. bound — certain

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