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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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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: sharp · stand · fall · pitcher · degree · calf · shower · kid

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. degree — temperature
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. fall — the season
  5. degree — from a university
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. shower — rain
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. fall — to drop
  11. fall — to drop
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. degree — an amount
  18. sharp — clever
  19. stand — to bear
  20. shower — to wash
  21. kid — child
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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