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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. cell — a phone
  6. prune — to trim
  7. degree — temperature
  8. stock — goods
  9. ball — a great time
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. ball — a dance
  14. chair — a leader
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. degree — from a university
  17. cell — in biology
  18. stock — shares
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. degree — an amount
  21. prune — to trim
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. hide — to keep secret

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