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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 116 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 · hand · rest · bank · degree · present

  1. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. degree — temperature
  4. rest — a break
  5. present — a gift
  6. bank — of a river
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. bank — for money
  9. rest — what's left
  10. bank — for money
  11. rest — what's left
  12. present — there
  13. hand — help
  14. degree — from a university
  15. present — the time now
  16. degree — an amount
  17. chair — a leader
  18. hand — part of the body

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