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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 116 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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. degree — temperature
  5. degree — an amount
  6. current — electric
  7. spell — a short time
  8. degree — from a university
  9. bear — the animal
  10. spell — letters
  11. prune — to trim
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. press — newspapers
  14. current — happening now
  15. current — of water
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. prune — to trim
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. press — a publisher
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. spell — magic
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. press — to push
  24. bear — the animal

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