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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: chair · craft · squash · degree · cap · pitch · hide · toast

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. squash — to crush
  6. chair — a leader
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. toast — bread
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. degree — temperature
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. craft — boats
  13. squash — the sport
  14. degree — from a university
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. toast — the most admired
  18. cap — a lid
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. craft — a skill
  21. pitch — completely
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. cap — of ice
  24. cap — a hat

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