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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. The ________________ took off on time.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. chair — a leader
  3. squash — the sport
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. hand — in cards
  6. squash — to crush
  7. cue — a signal
  8. degree — temperature
  9. degree — an amount
  10. cue — for pool
  11. mate — a friend
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. hand — help
  16. plane — a tool
  17. cue — a hint
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. mate — a partner
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. mate — to breed
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. degree — from a university
  24. kick — in football

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