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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. bore — to tire
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. kid — child
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. club — for golf
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. degree — from a university
  10. degree — temperature
  11. cold — an illness
  12. degree — an amount
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. bore — to drill
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. club — for dancing
  20. club — a group
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. cold — not warm

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