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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. When will it ________________ you to start?
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. chair — a leader
  3. field — for sport
  4. suit — to fit
  5. mark — a trace
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. mark — a grade
  8. bat — the animal
  9. degree — temperature
  10. degree — an amount
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. bass — the fish
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. field — farmland
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. field — a subject
  17. suit — clothes
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. bass — low music
  21. suit — in cards
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. degree — from a university

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