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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: kid · fall · hand · object · degree · bound · shower · jam

  1. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. hand — in cards
  3. fall — to drop
  4. degree — temperature
  5. degree — an amount
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. shower — rain
  8. degree — from a university
  9. kid — to tease
  10. object — to protest
  11. jam — to spread on bread
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. shower — to wash
  14. object — a thing
  15. bound — obliged
  16. hand — help
  17. fall — to drop
  18. jam — in traffic
  19. object — an aim
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. bound — tied together
  22. bound — certain
  23. jam — a tight spot
  24. kid — child

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