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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: stick · kid · field · dip · degree · rule

  1. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — to attach or keep to
  2. kid — child
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. degree — an amount
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. rule — a law
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. degree — from a university
  10. field — a subject
  11. field — farmland
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. degree — temperature
  15. field — for sport
  16. kid — to tease
  17. rule — government
  18. dip — to sink

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