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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: bat · shower · object · chair · fork · bass · degree · mine

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. mine — for digging
  6. bass — low music
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. bass — the fish
  9. fork — in a road
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. object — a thing
  12. degree — an amount
  13. shower — rain
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. object — to protest
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. degree — temperature
  18. bat — the animal
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. chair — a leader
  21. degree — from a university
  22. shower — to wash
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. object — an aim

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