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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. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. degree — an amount
  4. prune — to trim
  5. bear — the animal
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. prune — to trim
  11. degree — from a university
  12. rock — a stone
  13. degree — temperature
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. rock — music
  16. chair — a leader
  17. snap — to click
  18. game — wild animals
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. saw — the tool
  21. game — a match
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. bear — the animal
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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