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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 120 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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. degree — an amount
  4. prune — to trim
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. bear — the animal
  7. degree — from a university
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. bear — the animal
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. hand — help
  15. chair — a leader
  16. hand — in cards
  17. wind — moving air
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. wind — moving air
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. prune — to trim
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. degree — temperature

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