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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 120 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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. kick — in football
  3. drill — the tool
  4. mine — for digging
  5. degree — an amount
  6. kid — to tease
  7. drill — a practice
  8. wake — a trail
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. drill — army training
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. kid — child
  18. pop — to visit
  19. pop — soda
  20. degree — from a university
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. pop — music
  24. degree — temperature

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