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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. kid — child
  3. mug — to rob
  4. degree — an amount
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. fork — in a road
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. kid — to tease
  10. mug — a face
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. degree — temperature
  13. mug — a cup
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. stand — to bear
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. spring — the season
  19. spring — of water
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. degree — from a university
  23. spring — a coil
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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