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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 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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. shower — rain
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. degree — an amount
  7. degree — temperature
  8. tear — to rip
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. cue — a hint
  13. tear — from crying
  14. perch — the fish
  15. cue — for pool
  16. tear — from crying
  17. bulb — for light
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. bulb — for light
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. cue — a signal
  22. shower — to wash
  23. degree — from a university
  24. calf — a young animal

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