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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: board · degree · hide · kick · kid · content

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. kid — to tease
  3. kid — child
  4. content — the amount
  5. content — happy
  6. kick — in football
  7. degree — from a university
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. board — a committee
  13. degree — an amount
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. board — to get on
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. hide — to keep secret

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