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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: rock · degree · chair · bear · mate · kick

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. rock — music
  3. mate — a friend
  4. rock — a stone
  5. bear — the animal
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. mate — a partner
  8. kick — in football
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. chair — a leader
  12. mate — to breed
  13. degree — an amount
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. degree — temperature
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. bear — the animal

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