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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. swing — music
  3. wound — an injury
  4. chair — a leader
  5. charge — a price
  6. swing — to play on
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. charge — in control
  9. swing — in golf
  10. charge — electricity
  11. game — a match
  12. degree — from a university
  13. kid — to tease
  14. wound — an injury
  15. kid — child
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. degree — temperature
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. game — wild animals
  20. bark — to shout
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. degree — an amount
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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