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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. degree — an amount
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. row — to paddle
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. kick — in football
  8. degree — temperature
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. bass — the fish
  13. bass — low music
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. row — a line
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. degree — from a university
  23. chair — a leader
  24. plane — a tool

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