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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: calf · mug · kid · cell · jam · foot · rule · degree

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. mug — a face
  3. degree — from a university
  4. jam — a tight spot
  5. cell — a phone
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. cell — in biology
  8. degree — an amount
  9. rule — government
  10. jam — to spread on bread
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. degree — temperature
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. mug — a cup
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. kid — child
  19. mug — to rob
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. foot — a measure
  23. rule — a law
  24. jam — in traffic

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