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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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Word bank
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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: present · kick · row · season · degree · chair

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. 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. season — to add flavour
  2. degree — from a university
  3. degree — temperature
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. season — of the year
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. degree — an amount
  10. season — in sport
  11. present — a gift
  12. chair — a leader
  13. row — a line
  14. present — the time now
  15. row — to paddle
  16. kick — in football
  17. present — there
  18. 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