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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. deal — to handle
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. rest — what's left
  7. bat — the animal
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. degree — temperature
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. drill — the tool
  14. rest — a break
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. drill — army training
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. rest — what's left
  20. drill — a practice
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. chip — to eat
  23. chip — for betting
  24. degree — from a university

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