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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. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. My mare is ________________ in color.
  23. The tickets are free of ________________.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. swing — music
  4. swing — in golf
  5. kid — to tease
  6. degree — temperature
  7. cell — a phone
  8. capital — a city
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. capital — money
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. degree — from a university
  16. cell — in biology
  17. kid — child
  18. degree — an amount
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. charge — in control
  21. pitch — completely
  22. bay — a horse colour
  23. charge — a price
  24. swing — to play on

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