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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. tear — from crying
  3. degree — from a university
  4. ground — a position
  5. season — in sport
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. degree — an amount
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. ground — the earth
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. degree — temperature
  15. season — of the year
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. tear — to rip
  18. bat — the animal
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. tear — from crying
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. ground — crushed

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