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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. degree — from a university
  4. squash — the sport
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. chair — a leader
  7. mate — a friend
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. craft — boats
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. craft — a skill
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. mate — a partner
  16. saw — the tool
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. squash — to crush
  19. degree — an amount
  20. mate — to breed
  21. saw — the tool
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. degree — temperature
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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