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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. spell — letters
  5. degree — from a university
  6. game — wild animals
  7. rest — what's left
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. game — a match
  10. rest — what's left
  11. degree — an amount
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. rest — a break
  14. spell — a short time
  15. bass — low music
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. chair — a leader
  19. bass — the fish
  20. degree — temperature
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. spell — magic
  24. fine — all right

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