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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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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: wind · fine · mug · fork · kid · degree · rush · staff

  1. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Where did you ________________ them?
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. mug — a face
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. wind — moving air
  5. rush — hurry
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. staff — employees
  8. kid — to tease
  9. staff — a stick
  10. fork — in a road
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. wind — moving air
  13. degree — from a university
  14. staff — employees
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. mug — a cup
  17. degree — temperature
  18. fine — all right
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. kid — child
  23. mug — to rob
  24. degree — an amount

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