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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 116 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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. hand — help
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. chair — a leader
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. bank — of a river
  8. bound — certain
  9. bank — for money
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. bank — for money
  12. degree — temperature
  13. ball — a dance
  14. chip — to eat
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. hand — in cards
  17. bound — obliged
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. ball — a great time
  21. degree — from a university
  22. lie — to recline
  23. bound — tied together
  24. chip — for betting

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