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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 had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  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. drill — a practice
  2. degree — from a university
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. degree — temperature
  6. cold — not warm
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. cold — an illness
  11. drill — army training
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. jam — a tight spot
  15. deal — to handle
  16. jam — to spread on bread
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. jam — in traffic
  19. kid — to tease
  20. kid — child
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. drill — the tool
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  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