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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. degree — temperature
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. pit — in a race
  5. chair — a leader
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. fall — the season
  8. fall — to drop
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. pit — a hole
  13. degree — from a university
  14. snap — to click
  15. degree — an amount
  16. pop — soda
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. pop — to visit
  19. scale — in music
  20. fall — to drop
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. pop — music
  24. scale — size or range

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