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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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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: bore · kid · row · charge · wave · bat · deal · swing

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. charge — electricity
  3. swing — music
  4. bore — to tire
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. row — a line
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. swing — in golf
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. deal — to handle
  11. bore — to drill
  12. charge — a price
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. charge — in control
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. kid — child
  21. bat — the animal
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. row — to paddle
  24. swing — to play on

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