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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. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. firm — decided
  3. degree — an amount
  4. rash — hasty
  5. degree — temperature
  6. pop — to visit
  7. rash — a series
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. firm — steady
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. pop — music
  16. firm — a company
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. can — to be able to
  19. can — a tin
  20. pop — soda
  21. can — a tin
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. chair — a leader
  24. trunk — of a car

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