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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. rush — hurry
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. snap — to click
  6. cap — of ice
  7. degree — temperature
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. cap — a lid
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. cap — a hat
  14. degree — from a university
  15. degree — an amount
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. snap — to snap out of it

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