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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: degree · mug · fan · foot · bowl · rash · chair · last

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. chair — a leader
  3. degree — from a university
  4. degree — an amount
  5. last — finally
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. mug — a cup
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. mug — a face
  12. rash — hasty
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. foot — a measure
  16. mug — to rob
  17. rash — a series
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. degree — temperature
  24. last — final

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