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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. jam — in traffic
  3. race — a contest
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. charge — a price
  8. chair — a leader
  9. shower — to wash
  10. jam — to spread on bread
  11. degree — temperature
  12. degree — from a university
  13. charge — in control
  14. ball — a dance
  15. degree — an amount
  16. charge — electricity
  17. race — the arms race
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. race — humankind
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. jam — a tight spot
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. shower — rain

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