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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. kid — to tease
  3. drill — a practice
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. drill — the tool
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. drill — army training
  8. degree — from a university
  9. row — a line
  10. degree — an amount
  11. snap — to click
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. spring — the season
  14. spring — of water
  15. degree — temperature
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. kid — child
  18. row — to paddle
  19. fall — to drop
  20. fall — the season
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. fall — to drop
  24. spring — a coil

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