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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. degree — from a university
  3. chair — a leader
  4. bear — the animal
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. spell — letters
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. degree — temperature
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. bound — tied together
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. bear — the animal
  14. spell — magic
  15. bound — certain
  16. cap — of ice
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. cap — a hat
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. bound — obliged
  21. spell — a short time
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. lie — to recline
  24. cap — a lid

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