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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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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 · bore · cue · bay · leaves · row · degree · content

  1. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. My mare is ________________ in color.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. bay — a part of the sea
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. cue — a signal
  6. degree — from a university
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. content — happy
  11. bore — to drill
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. kid — child
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. content — the amount
  16. degree — temperature
  17. degree — an amount
  18. bay — a horse colour
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. cue — for pool
  21. bore — to tire
  22. row — a line
  23. kid — to tease
  24. row — to paddle

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