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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 120 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 had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. degree — an amount
  3. degree — temperature
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. chair — a leader
  6. last — finally
  7. last — final
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. scale — in music
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. bear — the animal
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. last — to go on
  17. degree — from a university
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. scale — size or range
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. bear — the animal
  22. row — to paddle
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. row — a line

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