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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: squash · degree · staff · kick · plane · kid · pound · perch

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. staff — a stick
  3. pound — a weight
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. degree — from a university
  6. staff — employees
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. perch — the fish
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. plane — a tool
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. staff — employees
  13. kid — to tease
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. kick — in football
  16. squash — to crush
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. degree — an amount
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. squash — the sport
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. kid — child
  23. degree — temperature
  24. plane — an aircraft

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