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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. date — the fruit
  3. band — a ring
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. stand — to bear
  6. degree — an amount
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. degree — from a university
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. row — to paddle
  11. scale — size or range
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. cap — a lid
  14. scale — in music
  15. row — a line
  16. cap — of ice
  17. degree — temperature
  18. band — a music group
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. cap — a hat
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. chair — a leader
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. row — a quarrel

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