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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. When will it ________________ you to start?
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. suit — in cards
  4. net — for catching
  5. swing — to play on
  6. kid — to tease
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. swing — music
  9. drill — army training
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. swing — in golf
  12. degree — from a university
  13. drill — a practice
  14. suit — to fit
  15. mate — to breed
  16. suit — clothes
  17. mate — a friend
  18. degree — temperature
  19. kid — child
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. drill — the tool
  22. degree — an amount
  23. net — in sport
  24. net — after costs

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