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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 124 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 black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. rash — a series
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. cue — for pool
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. bear — the animal
  9. row — a line
  10. land — ground
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. rash — hasty
  15. degree — temperature
  16. cue — a hint
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. cue — a signal
  19. chair — a leader
  20. row — to paddle
  21. degree — from a university
  22. land — to come down
  23. degree — an amount
  24. land — a country

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