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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. degree — from a university
  3. rash — hasty
  4. deal — to handle
  5. kid — to tease
  6. hand — in cards
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. degree — an amount
  9. fall — to drop
  10. ball — a dance
  11. fall — the season
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. hand — help
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. fall — to drop
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. kid — child
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. rash — a series
  23. degree — temperature
  24. ball — a great time

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