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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: game · foot · chip · degree · bear · kid · hide · rock

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. degree — an amount
  3. bear — the animal
  4. game — wild animals
  5. chip — for betting
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. bear — the animal
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. chip — to eat
  11. rock — a stone
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. foot — a measure
  15. kid — child
  16. game — a match
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. kid — to tease
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. degree — from a university
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. degree — temperature
  24. rock — music

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