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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. degree — from a university
  3. chair — a leader
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. key — for a lock
  6. current — happening now
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. current — electric
  10. march — the month
  11. cell — a phone
  12. current — of water
  13. march — music
  14. toast — bread
  15. degree — an amount
  16. toast — the most admired
  17. cell — in biology
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. march — the month
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. key — in music
  22. degree — temperature
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. key — the most important part

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