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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: chair · spell · kick · degree · drill · bear

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. degree — temperature
  3. bear — the animal
  4. kick — in football
  5. drill — the tool
  6. chair — a leader
  7. spell — magic
  8. degree — from a university
  9. bear — the animal
  10. spell — a short time
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. spell — letters
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. degree — an amount
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. drill — a practice
  18. drill — army training

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