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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. sharp — clever
  3. kid — child
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. content — the amount
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. net — for catching
  10. degree — from a university
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. kid — to tease
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. degree — an amount
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. net — in sport
  18. season — in sport
  19. content — happy
  20. season — of the year
  21. net — after costs
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. pound — a weight

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