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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. kick — in football
  4. degree — temperature
  5. can — to be able to
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. degree — an amount
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. tear — from crying
  11. squash — the sport
  12. squash — to crush
  13. degree — from a university
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. plane — a tool
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. tear — from crying
  20. can — a tin
  21. tear — to rip
  22. chair — a leader
  23. can — a tin
  24. kick — a thrill

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