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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. key — for a lock
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. pit — in a race
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. pit — a hole
  7. dip — to sink
  8. drill — a practice
  9. saw — the tool
  10. degree — an amount
  11. degree — temperature
  12. game — a match
  13. game — wild animals
  14. key — the most important part
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. drill — army training
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. drill — the tool
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. degree — from a university
  22. saw — the tool
  23. key — in music
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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