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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: pass · kick · degree · kid · bear · mouse · wind · game

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. degree — an amount
  3. kick — in football
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. pass — a permit
  6. bear — the animal
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. bear — the animal
  9. degree — temperature
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. wind — moving air
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. kid — to tease
  14. game — a match
  15. kid — child
  16. game — wild animals
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. degree — from a university
  23. wind — moving air
  24. mouse — for a computer

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