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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. shower — rain
  4. chair — a leader
  5. lie — to recline
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. degree — temperature
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. present — the time now
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. present — a gift
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. shower — to wash
  14. present — there
  15. degree — an amount
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. game — wild animals
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. saw — the tool
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. degree — from a university
  24. saw — the tool

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