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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. degree — an amount
  4. land — ground
  5. bulb — for light
  6. degree — temperature
  7. track — a path
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. track — to keep track
  12. bulb — for light
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. rock — music
  15. kid — child
  16. land — a country
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. chair — a leader
  20. kid — to tease
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. degree — from a university
  23. land — to come down
  24. rock — a stone

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