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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. cue — a hint
  3. chair — a leader
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. land — ground
  6. bound — certain
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. vault — a safe
  9. bound — tied together
  10. cue — a signal
  11. cue — for pool
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. bound — obliged
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. degree — an amount
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. capital — a city
  18. capital — money
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. land — to come down
  22. degree — temperature
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. land — a country

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