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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. degree — temperature
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. march — the month
  6. squash — the sport
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. march — the month
  10. charge — a price
  11. march — music
  12. chair — a leader
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. kid — to tease
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. degree — an amount
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. squash — to crush
  20. kid — child
  21. charge — electricity
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. charge — in control

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