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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. last — final
  4. rush — hurry
  5. cue — a hint
  6. chair — a leader
  7. cue — a signal
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. present — there
  12. rash — a series
  13. board — to get on
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. cue — for pool
  16. board — a committee
  17. present — the time now
  18. rash — hasty
  19. present — a gift
  20. last — to go on
  21. degree — from a university
  22. degree — an amount
  23. last — finally
  24. chair — to sit on

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