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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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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: kid · net · degree · spell · bear · spring · charge · mine

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. bear — the animal
  3. spring — of water
  4. net — in sport
  5. kid — to tease
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. net — after costs
  8. kid — child
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. mine — for digging
  11. degree — from a university
  12. spring — a coil
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. spring — the season
  15. spell — letters
  16. bear — the animal
  17. spell — a short time
  18. charge — electricity
  19. net — for catching
  20. spell — magic
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. charge — a price
  23. charge — in control
  24. degree — an amount

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