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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  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. chair — a professorship
  2. mug — a cup
  3. chair — a leader
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. pitch — completely
  8. bat — the animal
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. bulb — for light
  11. degree — from a university
  12. staff — employees
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. degree — temperature
  15. staff — a stick
  16. degree — an amount
  17. bulb — for light
  18. mug — a face
  19. shower — rain
  20. staff — employees
  21. shower — to wash
  22. mug — to rob
  23. bat — in an idiom
  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