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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. game — wild animals
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. degree — from a university
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. bank — for money
  11. degree — temperature
  12. bulb — for light
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. bank — for money
  15. bank — of a river
  16. degree — an amount
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. chair — a leader
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. bulb — for light
  21. game — a match
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. wake — a trail
  24. branch — a division

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