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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. net — for catching
  3. degree — an amount
  4. degree — from a university
  5. chair — a leader
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. bear — the animal
  8. pitch — completely
  9. track — a song
  10. track — to keep track
  11. can — a tin
  12. net — in sport
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. bear — the animal
  15. spell — magic
  16. can — a tin
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. can — to be able to
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. spell — letters
  21. spell — a short time
  22. degree — temperature
  23. track — a path
  24. net — after costs

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