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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 116 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: content · degree · kid · cabinet · bat · dip · squash · bore

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. bat — the animal
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. squash — to crush
  7. squash — the sport
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. content — happy
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. kid — child
  13. dip — to sink
  14. bore — to drill
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. bore — to tire
  18. kid — to tease
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. content — the amount
  22. degree — from a university
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. degree — temperature

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