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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: kid · tube · foot · mine · degree · saw · track · hand

  1. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. track — a song
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. tube — the underground
  5. tube — a container
  6. degree — temperature
  7. degree — an amount
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. kid — to tease
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. mine — for digging
  15. foot — a measure
  16. saw — the tool
  17. hand — in cards
  18. saw — the tool
  19. track — to keep track
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. track — a path
  22. kid — child
  23. hand — help
  24. degree — from a university

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