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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: chair · degree · craft · suit · capital · mouse · pit · rush

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. When will it ________________ you to start?
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  24. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. chair — a leader
  4. suit — clothes
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. craft — a skill
  7. capital — money
  8. degree — an amount
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. suit — to fit
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. craft — boats
  14. degree — from a university
  15. pit — a hole
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. capital — a city
  18. pit — in a race
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. degree — temperature
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. suit — in cards

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