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

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. degree — from a university
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. kid — child
  6. chair — a leader
  7. race — a contest
  8. chip — for betting
  9. present — there
  10. kid — to tease
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. race — the arms race
  14. degree — temperature
  15. chip — to eat
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. race — humankind
  18. present — a gift
  19. squash — to crush
  20. present — the time now
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. lie — to recline
  23. degree — an amount
  24. squash — the sport

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