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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. cue — a signal
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. chair — a leader
  6. spell — magic
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. cue — for pool
  9. cue — a hint
  10. spell — a short time
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. degree — temperature
  14. degree — from a university
  15. degree — an amount
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. kid — to tease
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. spell — letters
  22. kick — in football
  23. dip — to sink
  24. coach — a trainer

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