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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. degree — an amount
  3. bear — the animal
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. club — for golf
  8. dip — to sink
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. bat — the animal
  11. degree — from a university
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. degree — temperature
  14. game — a match
  15. club — for dancing
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. club — a group
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. bear — the animal
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. game — wild animals
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. chair — a professorship

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