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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 116 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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. degree — from a university
  3. pass — to spend time
  4. chair — a leader
  5. degree — temperature
  6. current — electric
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. wind — moving air
  9. current — of water
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. degree — an amount
  12. wind — moving air
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. current — happening now
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. dip — to sink
  19. last — final
  20. pass — a permit
  21. last — finally
  22. pound — a weight
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. last — to go on

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