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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. degree — from a university
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. chair — a leader
  5. rest — what's left
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. bound — certain
  8. scale — in music
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. bound — tied together
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. degree — temperature
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. rest — a break
  18. bound — obliged
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. sharp — clever
  21. rest — what's left
  22. degree — an amount
  23. scale — size or range
  24. rush — hurry

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