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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. charge — a price
  3. degree — temperature
  4. craft — a skill
  5. kid — child
  6. charge — electricity
  7. charge — in control
  8. chip — for betting
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. degree — from a university
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. shower — rain
  14. craft — boats
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. degree — an amount
  17. kid — to tease
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. chip — to eat
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. shower — to wash
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. hand — in cards
  24. hand — help

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