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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. staff — employees
  3. march — music
  4. fine — high quality
  5. chip — for betting
  6. degree — an amount
  7. swing — to play on
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. swing — in golf
  11. swing — music
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. march — the month
  14. staff — a stick
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. degree — from a university
  17. fine — all right
  18. chip — to eat
  19. staff — employees
  20. march — the month
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. degree — temperature
  23. kid — child
  24. pitch — completely

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