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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. degree — temperature
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. net — after costs
  7. perch — the fish
  8. net — for catching
  9. last — final
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. season — of the year
  12. degree — an amount
  13. last — finally
  14. last — to go on
  15. season — in sport
  16. vault — a safe
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. net — in sport
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. pitch — completely
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. degree — from a university

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