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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 got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. cue — a hint
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. degree — temperature
  8. degree — an amount
  9. chair — a leader
  10. object — to protest
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. hand — help
  14. rest — what's left
  15. degree — from a university
  16. rest — a break
  17. rest — what's left
  18. cue — a signal
  19. branch — a division
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. object — an aim
  22. object — a thing
  23. cue — for pool
  24. branch — of a bank

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