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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. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. degree — from a university
  5. season — of the year
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. firm — a company
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. chair — a leader
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. firm — steady
  12. degree — an amount
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. season — in sport
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. cell — in biology
  18. hand — help
  19. hand — in cards
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. date — the fruit
  22. cell — a phone
  23. degree — temperature
  24. firm — decided

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