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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. bound — obliged
  3. spring — a coil
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. pass — a permit
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. swing — music
  8. kid — to tease
  9. bound — tied together
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. degree — an amount
  12. degree — temperature
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. bound — certain
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. kid — child
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. spring — of water
  20. swing — to play on
  21. spring — the season
  22. swing — in golf
  23. degree — from a university
  24. kick — in football

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