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

Word bank: chair · lie · present · degree · race · chip

  1. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. race — a contest
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. present — a gift
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. race — humankind
  7. chip — to eat
  8. present — the time now
  9. degree — temperature
  10. degree — an amount
  11. degree — from a university
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. chip — for betting
  14. lie — to recline
  15. chair — a leader
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. present — there
  18. chip — in a computer

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