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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. degree — from a university
  3. ground — the earth
  4. shower — rain
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. hand — help
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. sharp — clever
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. hand — in cards
  13. degree — an amount
  14. wind — moving air
  15. ground — crushed
  16. ground — a position
  17. safe — a strongbox
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. wind — moving air
  20. shower — to wash
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. degree — temperature
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. hand — part of the body

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