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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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Word bank
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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: wind · degree · scale · pit · present · kid

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. wind — moving air
  3. degree — temperature
  4. wind — moving air
  5. pit — a hole
  6. present — the time now
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. degree — from a university
  10. present — a gift
  11. degree — an amount
  12. scale — in music
  13. kid — to tease
  14. pit — in a race
  15. kid — child
  16. scale — size or range
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. present — there

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