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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. degree — temperature
  7. degree — from a university
  8. kick — in football
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. current — happening now
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. game — wild animals
  13. degree — an amount
  14. mark — a grade
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. mark — a trace
  17. current — of water
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. wake — a trail
  20. staff — a stick
  21. chair — a leader
  22. current — electric
  23. staff — employees
  24. staff — employees

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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