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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: degree · kid · bark · race · temple · stand · wake · hand

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. bark — to shout
  3. stand — to bear
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. race — the arms race
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. hand — help
  8. kid — to tease
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. race — humankind
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. degree — from a university
  15. degree — an amount
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. degree — temperature
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. kid — child
  20. wake — a trail
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. race — a contest
  24. hand — in cards

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