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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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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: jam · mug · chair · wave · face · degree · race · cold

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. mug — to rob
  3. race — a contest
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. face — to confront
  6. jam — to spread on bread
  7. degree — from a university
  8. jam — a tight spot
  9. mug — a face
  10. face — part of the head
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. mug — a cup
  13. face — to point toward
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. jam — in traffic
  16. degree — temperature
  17. cold — not warm
  18. degree — an amount
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. race — the arms race
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. race — humankind
  24. chair — a leader

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