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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 120 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. chair — a leader
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. fall — the season
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. cell — in biology
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. degree — an amount
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. degree — from a university
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. fall — to drop
  16. degree — temperature
  17. cell — a phone
  18. fall — to drop

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