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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. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. fork — in a road
  3. drill — a practice
  4. chair — a leader
  5. degree — from a university
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. drill — the tool
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. drill — army training
  13. degree — temperature
  14. swing — to play on
  15. foot — a measure
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. swing — music
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. swing — in golf
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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