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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. degree — an amount
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. lie — to recline
  6. degree — temperature
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. degree — from a university
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. craft — a skill
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. craft — boats
  15. prune — to trim
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. bat — the animal
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. prune — to trim
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. branch — a division
  23. chair — a leader
  24. stand — to bear

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