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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: bore · kid · hand · jam · bass · game · degree · mug

  1. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  7. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. game — wild animals
  3. bore — to drill
  4. mug — a cup
  5. hand — help
  6. jam — in traffic
  7. jam — to spread on bread
  8. game — a match
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. degree — from a university
  11. degree — temperature
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. mug — a face
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. jam — a tight spot
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. bass — low music
  19. kid — child
  20. degree — an amount
  21. kid — to tease
  22. bore — to tire
  23. hand — in cards
  24. bass — the fish

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