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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 120 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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. net — after costs
  3. bark — to shout
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. swing — to play on
  7. net — for catching
  8. deal — to handle
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. charge — in control
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. swing — music
  14. band — a music group
  15. sharp — clever
  16. charge — a price
  17. swing — in golf
  18. charge — electricity
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. band — a ring
  21. net — in sport
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. kid — child
  24. sharp — with an edge

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