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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. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. file — a line of people
  4. shower — to wash
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. degree — an amount
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. degree — from a university
  12. file — a tool
  13. march — the month
  14. file — a document
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. shower — rain
  17. pass — a permit
  18. march — music
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. chair — a leader
  21. march — the month
  22. firm — a company
  23. degree — temperature
  24. firm — steady

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