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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. clip — for paper
  3. ball — a dance
  4. degree — temperature
  5. ball — a great time
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. clip — to cut
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. club — a group
  12. stock — shares
  13. wake — a trail
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. club — for dancing
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. club — for golf
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. degree — from a university
  21. stock — goods
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. degree — an amount
  24. clip — a video

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