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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 124 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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. pop — music
  5. toast — bread
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. fall — the season
  11. degree — from a university
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. fall — to drop
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. chair — a leader
  16. degree — temperature
  17. fall — to drop
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. toast — a drink to someone
  22. fork — in a road
  23. pop — to visit
  24. pop — soda

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