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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. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. Tom got himself in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — to spread on bread
  2. chair — a leader
  3. clip — for paper
  4. degree — from a university
  5. degree — temperature
  6. jam — in traffic
  7. foot — a measure
  8. land — a country
  9. clip — a video
  10. degree — an amount
  11. clip — to cut
  12. saw — the tool
  13. saw — the tool
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. land — ground
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. pound — a weight
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. land — to come down
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. jam — a tight spot

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