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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. chair — a leader
  4. bulb — for light
  5. season — of the year
  6. fine — high quality
  7. season — in sport
  8. cold — not warm
  9. degree — temperature
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. firm — a company
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. firm — decided
  14. bulb — for light
  15. degree — from a university
  16. club — a group
  17. club — for golf
  18. firm — steady
  19. club — for dancing
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. degree — an amount
  22. cold — an illness
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. season — to add flavour

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