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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. game — wild animals
  3. bark — to shout
  4. ball — a great time
  5. ruler — a monarch
  6. press — to push
  7. band — a ring
  8. press — a publisher
  9. press — newspapers
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. ball — a dance
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. band — a music group
  14. degree — an amount
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. game — a match
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. degree — from a university
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. degree — temperature
  24. ruler — for measuring

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