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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. When will it ________________ you to start?
  22. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. degree — an amount
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. chair — a leader
  5. last — final
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. degree — from a university
  8. scale — in music
  9. clip — a video
  10. scale — size or range
  11. clip — to cut
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. pass — a permit
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. suit — in cards
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. clip — for paper
  20. degree — temperature
  21. suit — to fit
  22. suit — clothes
  23. last — to go on
  24. last — finally

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