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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 116 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. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. degree — an amount
  3. chair — a leader
  4. rash — hasty
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. capital — a city
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. degree — from a university
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. tear — from crying
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. bass — low music
  18. capital — money
  19. rash — a series
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. tear — to rip
  22. degree — temperature
  23. tear — from crying
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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