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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. degree — from a university
  3. rash — hasty
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. can — to be able to
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. chair — a leader
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. deal — to handle
  12. rash — a series
  13. can — a tin
  14. stem — to come from
  15. degree — temperature
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. ball — a dance
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. ball — a great time
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. can — a tin
  24. chair — a professorship

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