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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: bear · degree · mine · toast · chair · swing

  1. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. chair — a leader
  6. mine — for digging
  7. toast — bread
  8. swing — in golf
  9. bear — the animal
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. degree — temperature
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. degree — from a university
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. degree — an amount
  17. swing — music
  18. swing — to play on

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