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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: bowl · fall · degree · chair · deal · trunk

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. degree — from a university
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. fall — to drop
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. fall — the season
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. degree — an amount
  9. chair — a leader
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. deal — to handle
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. fall — to drop
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. degree — temperature

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