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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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468
Word bank
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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. kid — to tease
  3. pit — a hole
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. degree — an amount
  6. firm — steady
  7. firm — a company
  8. pit — in a race
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. chair — a leader
  11. net — in sport
  12. mate — to breed
  13. firm — decided
  14. net — for catching
  15. net — after costs
  16. mate — a partner
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. kick — in football
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. degree — from a university
  21. kid — child
  22. degree — temperature
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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