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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. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — for a computer
  2. cold — not warm
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. firm — a company
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. cold — an illness
  7. scale — in music
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. ball — a dance
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. firm — steady
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. firm — decided
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. scale — size or range
  17. ball — a great time
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. chair — a leader
  20. degree — temperature
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. degree — an amount
  23. degree — from a university
  24. mouse — the animal

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