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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: degree · band · fall · present · pop · row · chair · season

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. degree — from a university
  3. fall — the season
  4. fall — to drop
  5. season — of the year
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. band — a ring
  8. row — a line
  9. present — a gift
  10. pop — to visit
  11. degree — temperature
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. fall — to drop
  14. season — in sport
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. band — a music group
  17. pop — music
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. degree — an amount
  20. chair — a leader
  21. present — the time now
  22. pop — soda
  23. row — to paddle
  24. present — there

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