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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. degree — an amount
  3. degree — from a university
  4. degree — temperature
  5. drill — army training
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. press — a publisher
  8. drill — the tool
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. kid — to tease
  12. bear — the animal
  13. rash — a series
  14. safe — a strongbox
  15. bear — the animal
  16. kid — child
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. chair — a leader
  19. drill — a practice
  20. press — newspapers
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. rash — hasty
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. press — to push

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