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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 120 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: row · chair · current · bear · lie · arm · degree · content

  1. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. 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. arm — part of the body
  2. lie — to recline
  3. chair — a leader
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. row — to paddle
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. degree — temperature
  8. degree — from a university
  9. content — the amount
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. current — happening now
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. degree — an amount
  15. bear — the animal
  16. current — electric
  17. content — happy
  18. bear — the animal
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. row — a line
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. current — of water
  24. 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