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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  18. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. land — ground
  4. land — to come down
  5. degree — an amount
  6. kid — to tease
  7. swing — music
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. kid — child
  10. file — a tool
  11. field — a subject
  12. file — a line of people
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. land — a country
  15. degree — from a university
  16. field — farmland
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. safe — a strongbox
  19. field — for sport
  20. pass — a permit
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. degree — temperature
  23. swing — in golf
  24. file — a document

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