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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. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. rash — a series
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. hand — help
  5. rest — what's left
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. rest — what's left
  10. lie — to recline
  11. hand — in cards
  12. degree — from a university
  13. current — of water
  14. degree — temperature
  15. rash — hasty
  16. current — electric
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. chair — a leader
  19. current — happening now
  20. rest — a break
  21. ball — a dance
  22. ball — a great time
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. lie — an untruth

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