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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. mate — a friend
  3. mate — a partner
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. cap — of ice
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. cap — a lid
  8. degree — temperature
  9. bore — to drill
  10. degree — from a university
  11. mate — to breed
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. kid — child
  14. degree — an amount
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. stock — shares
  17. row — a line
  18. kid — to tease
  19. row — to paddle
  20. cap — a hat
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. bore — to tire
  24. stock — goods

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