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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. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. bass — low music
  4. cue — a hint
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. degree — from a university
  8. cell — a phone
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. cue — a signal
  11. content — happy
  12. rest — what's left
  13. degree — temperature
  14. content — the amount
  15. chair — a leader
  16. firm — decided
  17. firm — a company
  18. degree — an amount
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. rest — what's left
  21. cell — in biology
  22. bass — the fish
  23. cue — for pool
  24. firm — steady

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