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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. shower — rain
  3. spell — letters
  4. spell — a short time
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. wax — to grow
  8. file — a line of people
  9. file — a document
  10. degree — from a university
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. foot — a measure
  14. pound — a weight
  15. degree — temperature
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. degree — an amount
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. spell — magic
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. file — a tool
  24. shower — to wash

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