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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. root — of a word
  4. bound — certain
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. degree — temperature
  7. content — the amount
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. mate — a partner
  10. stand — to bear
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. content — happy
  15. bound — tied together
  16. chair — a leader
  17. bound — obliged
  18. root — the cause
  19. root — of a plant
  20. degree — an amount
  21. degree — from a university
  22. mate — a friend
  23. mine — for digging
  24. mate — to breed

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