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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. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. degree — from a university
  4. degree — an amount
  5. file — a document
  6. degree — temperature
  7. rule — government
  8. rule — a law
  9. bound — certain
  10. chair — a leader
  11. cap — a lid
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. file — a line of people
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. cap — of ice
  20. bound — tied together
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. file — a tool
  23. cap — a hat
  24. bound — obliged

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