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

Word bank: bear · chair · board · kid · swing · hand · scale · rule

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. kid — to tease
  3. bear — the animal
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. swing — in golf
  6. hand — help
  7. swing — music
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. board — to get on
  12. bear — the animal
  13. rule — government
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. kid — child
  16. chair — a leader
  17. swing — to play on
  18. hand — in cards
  19. scale — size or range
  20. rule — a law
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. board — a committee
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. scale — in music

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