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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. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. staff — employees
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. last — final
  7. can — a tin
  8. can — to be able to
  9. last — finally
  10. degree — from a university
  11. perch — the fish
  12. rush — hurry
  13. chair — a leader
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. wake — a trail
  16. staff — employees
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. staff — a stick
  19. last — to go on
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. can — a tin
  22. degree — temperature
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. wake — before a funeral

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