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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. degree — an amount
  4. snap — to click
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. staff — employees
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. squash — the sport
  11. foot — a measure
  12. squash — to crush
  13. staff — a stick
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. staff — employees
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. roll — a cake
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. degree — from a university
  21. degree — temperature
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. lie — to recline
  24. roll — a list

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