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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 120 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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. scale — size or range
  3. degree — temperature
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. chair — a leader
  6. degree — an amount
  7. cue — a signal
  8. race — a contest
  9. cap — a hat
  10. scale — in music
  11. race — humankind
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. cap — of ice
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. cap — a lid
  16. saw — the tool
  17. cue — a hint
  18. degree — from a university
  19. cue — for pool
  20. ruler — a monarch
  21. saw — the tool
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. race — the arms race
  24. chair — a professorship

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