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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. kid — child
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. fork — in a road
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. roll — a list
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. roll — a cake
  13. land — a country
  14. land — to come down
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. degree — an amount
  17. degree — temperature
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. hand — help
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. kid — to tease
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. land — ground
  24. degree — from a university

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