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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. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. chair — a leader
  3. degree — an amount
  4. chest — a box
  5. snap — to click
  6. plane — a tool
  7. chest — of your body
  8. season — of the year
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. degree — from a university
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. degree — temperature
  15. season — in sport
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. squash — the sport
  19. chest — of your body
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. pound — a weight
  24. squash — to crush

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