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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 116 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. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. When will it ________________ you to start?
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. mug — to rob
  3. file — a line of people
  4. suit — in cards
  5. file — a tool
  6. degree — an amount
  7. mug — a face
  8. degree — from a university
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. chair — a leader
  12. mug — a cup
  13. rule — government
  14. file — a document
  15. degree — temperature
  16. suit — to fit
  17. rule — a law
  18. suit — clothes

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