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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. degree — an amount
  3. net — in sport
  4. tear — to rip
  5. chair — a leader
  6. degree — temperature
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. degree — from a university
  9. net — for catching
  10. staff — a stick
  11. tear — from crying
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. staff — employees
  14. tube — the underground
  15. game — wild animals
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. season — of the year
  18. season — in sport
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. staff — employees
  22. net — after costs
  23. tube — a container
  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