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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. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. can — to be able to
  5. track — a path
  6. scale — size or range
  7. degree — an amount
  8. can — a tin
  9. chest — a box
  10. chair — a leader
  11. chest — of your body
  12. snap — to click
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. can — a tin
  15. chest — of your body
  16. degree — from a university
  17. ground — a position
  18. scale — in music
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. track — to keep track
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. ground — crushed
  23. degree — temperature
  24. track — a song

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