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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. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. pop — music
  5. chair — a leader
  6. craft — boats
  7. pop — soda
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. degree — an amount
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. degree — from a university
  15. craft — a skill
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. bat — the animal
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. pop — to visit
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. ground — the earth
  22. degree — temperature
  23. ground — crushed
  24. ground — a position

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