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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 120 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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. lash — an eyelash
  3. degree — from a university
  4. firm — steady
  5. scale — in music
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. degree — an amount
  8. firm — a company
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. snap — to click
  14. firm — decided
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. degree — temperature
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. chair — a leader
  23. scale — size or range
  24. fork — in a road

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