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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: foot · kid · chest · fine · degree · bear · shower · fan

  1. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. bear — the animal
  3. kid — child
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. kid — to tease
  6. fine — high quality
  7. shower — to wash
  8. degree — from a university
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. fine — all right
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. degree — temperature
  15. chest — of your body
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. degree — an amount
  18. bear — the animal
  19. chest — a box
  20. shower — rain
  21. foot — a measure
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. chest — of your body
  24. fan — to cool the air

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