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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: chest · degree · pass · kick · clip · cabinet · deal · charge

  1. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. degree — an amount
  3. pass — a permit
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. chest — a box
  6. chest — of your body
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. charge — electricity
  9. kick — in football
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. clip — to cut
  14. chest — of your body
  15. degree — temperature
  16. charge — in control
  17. degree — from a university
  18. charge — a price
  19. clip — a video
  20. deal — to handle
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. clip — for paper
  24. pass — to succeed

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