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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: hide · drill · spell · degree · chip · kid · stock · bulb

  1. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. degree — temperature
  3. bulb — for light
  4. stock — goods
  5. drill — army training
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. bulb — for light
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. drill — a practice
  10. stock — shares
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. spell — a short time
  13. spell — magic
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. degree — an amount
  16. degree — from a university
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. chip — to eat
  19. spell — letters
  20. kid — to tease
  21. kid — child
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. chip — for betting

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