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

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. kid — to tease
  3. rule — a law
  4. chair — a leader
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. degree — temperature
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. pass — a permit
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. degree — from a university
  16. rule — government
  17. kid — child
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. lie — to recline
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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