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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: swing · saw · deal · degree · mug · kid · march · object

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. degree — an amount
  4. saw — the tool
  5. swing — to play on
  6. mug — to rob
  7. swing — music
  8. kid — child
  9. march — music
  10. degree — from a university
  11. saw — the tool
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. mug — a face
  15. mug — a cup
  16. object — to protest
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. deal — to handle
  19. march — the month
  20. object — a thing
  21. object — an aim
  22. degree — temperature
  23. swing — in golf
  24. kid — to tease

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