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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 120 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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. degree — temperature
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. degree — from a university
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. land — a country
  10. degree — an amount
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. land — ground
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. band — a ring
  18. chair — a leader
  19. rash — a series
  20. perch — the fish
  21. rash — hasty
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. band — a music group

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