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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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. race — the arms race
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. degree — from a university
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. degree — temperature
  14. race — a contest
  15. degree — an amount
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. race — humankind
  24. perch — the fish

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