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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. bore — to tire
  4. degree — from a university
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. mug — a face
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. bore — to drill
  11. rush — hurry
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. chair — a leader
  14. mug — a cup
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. wound — an injury
  18. wound — an injury
  19. deal — to handle
  20. degree — temperature
  21. mug — to rob
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. date — the fruit
  24. degree — an amount

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