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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. degree — temperature
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. rush — hurry
  7. bat — the animal
  8. season — of the year
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. firm — a company
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. chair — a leader
  13. degree — from a university
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. firm — decided
  17. degree — an amount
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. firm — steady
  20. season — in sport
  21. tear — from crying
  22. fine — high quality
  23. tear — to rip
  24. tear — from crying

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