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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 120 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: mate · kid · degree · pit · fork · wave

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. mate — a friend
  4. degree — an amount
  5. kid — to tease
  6. fork — in a road
  7. mate — a partner
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. pit — a hole
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. degree — from a university
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. degree — temperature
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. pit — in a race
  18. mate — to breed

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