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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. degree — from a university
  3. wound — an injury
  4. degree — an amount
  5. kid — to tease
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. stock — shares
  9. degree — temperature
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. wound — an injury
  12. pound — a weight
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. kid — child
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. stock — goods
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. mine — for digging

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