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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: degree · charge · present · kid · rest · pass

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. present — there
  3. degree — an amount
  4. rest — what's left
  5. present — the time now
  6. charge — electricity
  7. rest — a break
  8. kid — child
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. degree — temperature
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. rest — what's left
  13. charge — in control
  14. degree — from a university
  15. kid — to tease
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. charge — a price
  18. pass — a permit

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