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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. kid — to tease
  4. saw — the tool
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. shower — to wash
  8. bank — for money
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. degree — from a university
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. bark — to shout
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. kid — child
  16. bank — for money
  17. shower — rain
  18. saw — the tool
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. degree — temperature
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. bank — of a river
  24. degree — an amount

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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