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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. kid — child
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. lean — thin
  11. degree — from a university
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. degree — temperature
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. dip — to sink
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. lean — to bend
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. degree — an amount

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