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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. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. degree — from a university
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. degree — temperature
  5. degree — an amount
  6. clip — for paper
  7. chip — for betting
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. pitch — completely
  10. clip — a video
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. clip — to cut
  15. firm — decided
  16. chair — a leader
  17. firm — a company
  18. chip — to eat

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