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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 are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. degree — an amount
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. pit — in a race
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. bound — certain
  9. craft — boats
  10. snap — to click
  11. kid — to tease
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. kid — child
  14. shower — rain
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. degree — temperature
  17. bound — tied together
  18. craft — a skill
  19. shower — to wash
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. degree — from a university
  22. pit — a hole
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. stem — to come from

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