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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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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: kick · degree · chair · cell · rock · coach · snap · pass

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. rock — a stone
  4. degree — from a university
  5. kick — in football
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. pass — a permit
  9. cell — a phone
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. snap — to click
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. chair — a leader
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. degree — temperature
  23. degree — an amount
  24. cell — in biology

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