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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. When will it ________________ you to start?
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. suit — clothes
  4. shower — rain
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. mate — a partner
  7. mate — a friend
  8. degree — temperature
  9. shower — to wash
  10. suit — in cards
  11. chip — for betting
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. suit — to fit
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. chip — to eat
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. cold — an illness
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. chair — a leader
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. cold — not warm
  22. degree — an amount
  23. mate — to breed
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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