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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: bat · kid · firm · safe · degree · bear · saw · cue

  1. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  19. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. kid — to tease
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. kid — child
  6. cue — a signal
  7. degree — temperature
  8. bear — the animal
  9. degree — an amount
  10. firm — a company
  11. bear — the animal
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. bat — the animal
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. saw — the tool
  17. cue — for pool
  18. safe — a strongbox
  19. firm — decided
  20. cue — a hint
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. firm — steady
  23. degree — from a university
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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