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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. degree — an amount
  3. degree — temperature
  4. hand — help
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. kid — to tease
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. root — of a word
  9. charge — electricity
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. club — for dancing
  12. root — of a plant
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. root — the cause
  15. degree — from a university
  16. kid — child
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. club — a group
  20. bat — the animal
  21. charge — in control
  22. charge — a price
  23. hand — in cards
  24. hand — part of the body

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