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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: degree · pitcher · calf · jam · cold · chair · bank · wind

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. bank — for money
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. jam — to spread on bread
  6. cold — not warm
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. jam — in traffic
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. cold — an illness
  13. degree — temperature
  14. wind — moving air
  15. jam — a tight spot
  16. chair — a leader
  17. degree — from a university
  18. wind — moving air
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. bank — of a river
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. bank — for money

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