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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. tear — from crying
  3. chair — a leader
  4. degree — temperature
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. mug — a cup
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. fall — to drop
  9. mug — a face
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. mug — to rob
  12. degree — an amount
  13. degree — from a university
  14. fall — to drop
  15. ball — a great time
  16. tear — to rip
  17. pass — a permit
  18. prune — to trim
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. tear — from crying
  21. ball — a dance
  22. fall — the season
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. prune — to trim

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