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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 · squash · rush · degree · hide · snap · bear · game

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. kid — child
  4. squash — to crush
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. game — wild animals
  7. rush — hurry
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. bear — the animal
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. degree — an amount
  13. squash — the sport
  14. degree — temperature
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. bear — the animal
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. snap — to click
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. game — a match
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. kid — to tease

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