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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. hand — in cards
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. file — a tool
  5. file — a document
  6. chair — a leader
  7. file — a line of people
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. degree — an amount
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. hand — help
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. degree — temperature

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