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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. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. degree — from a university
  4. rock — a stone
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. kid — child
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. file — a tool
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. pound — a weight
  11. key — in music
  12. key — the most important part
  13. key — for a lock
  14. can — a tin
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. rock — music
  18. can — to be able to
  19. degree — temperature
  20. degree — an amount
  21. kid — to tease
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. file — a document
  24. file — a line of people

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