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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. land — to come down
  3. degree — from a university
  4. staff — a stick
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. land — ground
  7. club — for dancing
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. club — a group
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. degree — temperature
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. staff — employees
  19. chip — to eat
  20. staff — employees
  21. chip — for betting
  22. chair — a leader
  23. land — a country
  24. degree — an amount

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