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

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. firm — steady
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. degree — an amount
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. firm — a company
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. capital — a city
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. capital — money
  13. degree — temperature
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. chair — a leader
  18. firm — decided

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