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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. wound — an injury
  3. degree — temperature
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. row — a line
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. degree — from a university
  9. row — to paddle
  10. kid — to tease
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. present — a gift
  13. present — there
  14. bank — for money
  15. degree — an amount
  16. bank — of a river
  17. wound — an injury
  18. bank — for money
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. present — the time now
  21. fork — in a road
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. row — a quarrel

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