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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 124 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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: degree · kid · hide · straw · ruler · rash

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. kid — to tease
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. rash — a series
  11. degree — temperature
  12. degree — an amount
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. kid — child
  18. degree — from a university

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