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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: pit · land · rush · straw · degree · lie · craft · chair

  1. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. rush — hurry
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. land — ground
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. land — to come down
  7. craft — a skill
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. pit — in a race
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. degree — temperature
  14. lie — to recline
  15. land — a country
  16. degree — from a university
  17. pit — a hole
  18. degree — an amount
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. chair — a leader
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. craft — boats
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. chair — to sit on

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