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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 · chair · present · ground · stand · saw · bat · sharp

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. chair — a leader
  3. sharp — clever
  4. stand — to bear
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. saw — the tool
  7. present — a gift
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. degree — from a university
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. bat — the animal
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. degree — temperature
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. present — the time now
  18. saw — the tool
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. present — there
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. ground — the earth
  23. degree — an amount
  24. ground — crushed

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