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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. saw — the tool
  3. degree — an amount
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. root — of a word
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. club — for dancing
  10. club — a group
  11. bear — the animal
  12. hand — in cards
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. root — the cause
  16. saw — the tool
  17. degree — temperature
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. degree — from a university
  21. root — of a plant
  22. club — for golf
  23. hand — help
  24. bear — the animal

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