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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. wound — an injury
  3. chair — a leader
  4. mate — a friend
  5. fall — to drop
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. wound — an injury
  9. rush — hurry
  10. bore — to tire
  11. mate — a partner
  12. degree — an amount
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. fall — the season
  15. mate — to breed
  16. can — a tin
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. can — to be able to
  19. degree — temperature
  20. bore — to drill
  21. can — a tin
  22. fall — to drop
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. chair — to sit on

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