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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: wave · march · jam · pop · lie · firm · degree · chair

  1. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. degree — an amount
  3. jam — in traffic
  4. march — music
  5. march — the month
  6. chair — a leader
  7. firm — decided
  8. pop — to visit
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. degree — temperature
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. firm — a company
  13. lie — to recline
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. degree — from a university
  19. jam — a tight spot
  20. pop — music
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. jam — to spread on bread
  23. pop — soda
  24. march — the month

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