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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. wound — an injury
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. degree — temperature
  6. jam — in traffic
  7. degree — an amount
  8. chair — a leader
  9. swing — music
  10. kick — in football
  11. jam — a tight spot
  12. wake — a trail
  13. degree — from a university
  14. swing — to play on
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. jam — to spread on bread
  18. swing — in golf
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. wound — an injury

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