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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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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: bore · kid · cap · perch · band · fork · mark · degree

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. band — a music group
  3. cap — of ice
  4. band — a ring
  5. mark — a trace
  6. kid — to tease
  7. bore — to drill
  8. bore — to tire
  9. cap — a hat
  10. cap — a lid
  11. degree — temperature
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. perch — the fish
  14. degree — an amount
  15. kid — child
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. mark — a grade
  22. degree — from a university
  23. fork — in a road
  24. fork — to eat with

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