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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. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — a monarch
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. degree — from a university
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. degree — temperature
  6. cue — a signal
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. date — the fruit
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. chest — of your body
  12. lean — thin
  13. cue — a hint
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. chair — a leader
  16. chest — of your body
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. lean — to bend
  19. cue — for pool
  20. degree — an amount
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. chest — a box

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