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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. hand — help
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. mate — a friend
  5. mate — a partner
  6. kid — to tease
  7. present — the time now
  8. degree — from a university
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. mate — to breed
  11. hand — in cards
  12. bark — to shout
  13. charge — a price
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. kid — child
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. present — there
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. present — a gift
  21. degree — temperature
  22. charge — in control
  23. lie — to recline
  24. degree — an amount

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