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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: game · charge · club · sharp · perch · jam · degree · kid

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  12. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. The tickets are free of ________________.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. degree — from a university
  3. kid — child
  4. club — a group
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. degree — temperature
  7. sharp — clever
  8. game — a match
  9. club — for golf
  10. game — wild animals
  11. jam — a tight spot
  12. jam — in traffic
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. charge — in control
  15. charge — electricity
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. jam — to spread on bread
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. club — for dancing
  20. degree — an amount
  21. perch — the fish
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. charge — a price
  24. perch — for a bird

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