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

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  6. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. ground — a position
  4. wound — an injury
  5. ruler — a monarch
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. degree — an amount
  9. ground — the earth
  10. wound — an injury
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. rest — what's left
  14. wind — moving air
  15. mate — a partner
  16. mate — a friend
  17. degree — temperature
  18. ground — crushed
  19. rest — what's left
  20. mate — to breed
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. degree — from a university
  23. rest — a break
  24. wind — moving air

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