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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 120 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: track · mate · last · club · deal · chair · kid · tube

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. kid — to tease
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. track — a song
  5. deal — to handle
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. mate — a partner
  8. mate — a friend
  9. last — to go on
  10. track — a path
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. tube — the underground
  13. tube — a container
  14. club — for golf
  15. club — for dancing
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. mate — to breed
  18. last — finally
  19. club — a group
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. track — to keep track
  23. last — final
  24. kid — child

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