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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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. degree — an amount
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. lie — to recline
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. degree — temperature
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. degree — from a university
  10. mug — a face
  11. season — of the year
  12. hand — help
  13. chair — a leader
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. can — a tin
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. can — a tin
  20. season — in sport
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. hand — in cards
  23. mug — a cup
  24. mug — to rob

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