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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've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. mark — a trace
  3. kid — child
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. game — wild animals
  6. spring — a coil
  7. rash — hasty
  8. kid — to tease
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. pit — a hole
  11. degree — an amount
  12. spring — the season
  13. pop — music
  14. game — a match
  15. spring — of water
  16. degree — temperature
  17. mark — a grade
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. pop — soda
  20. pit — in a race
  21. rash — a series
  22. degree — from a university
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. pop — to visit

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