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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 120 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: drill · ball · chip · perch · bear · cap · kid · degree

  1. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  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. cap — a lid
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. degree — temperature
  5. kid — to tease
  6. ball — a dance
  7. bear — the animal
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. cap — of ice
  10. drill — a practice
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. perch — the fish
  13. degree — an amount
  14. bear — the animal
  15. chip — to eat
  16. ball — a great time
  17. drill — army training
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. cap — a hat
  20. kid — child
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. degree — from a university
  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