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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. degree — an amount
  3. last — final
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. lean — to bend
  8. lean — thin
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. chair — a leader
  11. last — to go on
  12. game — a match
  13. degree — from a university
  14. last — finally
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. degree — temperature
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. rush — hurry
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. game — wild animals
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. chair — to sit on

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