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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 · pass · mate · hand · kid · board · charge · deal

  1. The tickets are free of ________________.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. board — to get on
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. pass — a permit
  8. hand — in cards
  9. degree — from a university
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. charge — electricity
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. mate — a friend
  14. mate — to breed
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. kid — child
  17. mate — a partner
  18. kid — to tease
  19. charge — in control
  20. degree — an amount
  21. board — a committee
  22. degree — temperature
  23. hand — help
  24. deal — to handle

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