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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 116 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: straw · rash · ground · pop · degree · kid · rest · field

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. degree — temperature
  3. field — farmland
  4. pop — music
  5. rash — a series
  6. rest — what's left
  7. rest — what's left
  8. field — for sport
  9. pop — soda
  10. ground — crushed
  11. kid — child
  12. ground — the earth
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. degree — from a university
  15. field — a subject
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. degree — an amount
  18. kid — to tease
  19. rash — hasty
  20. pop — to visit
  21. ground — a position
  22. rest — a break
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. straw — a straw man

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