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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. kid — child
  5. shower — rain
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. degree — from a university
  8. degree — temperature
  9. tube — a container
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. degree — an amount
  12. saw — the tool
  13. rash — a series
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. perch — the fish
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. rash — hasty
  19. tube — the underground
  20. kid — to tease
  21. lie — to recline
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. shower — to wash
  24. saw — the tool

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