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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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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. degree — an amount
  4. club — a group
  5. capital — a city
  6. can — a tin
  7. wake — a trail
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. kid — child
  10. degree — from a university
  11. club — for golf
  12. swing — music
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. can — a tin
  15. degree — temperature
  16. swing — to play on
  17. deal — to handle
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. capital — money
  22. swing — in golf
  23. can — to be able to
  24. club — for dancing

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