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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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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: degree · kid · lean · pit · wake · bear · wound · mine

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. wound — an injury
  6. kid — to tease
  7. bear — the animal
  8. degree — from a university
  9. pit — in a race
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. wake — a trail
  12. bear — the animal
  13. degree — an amount
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. lean — thin
  19. mine — for digging
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. degree — temperature
  22. wound — an injury
  23. lean — to bend
  24. pit — a hole

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