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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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Word bank
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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: last · degree · chair · drill · rule · tube

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. degree — from a university
  3. last — final
  4. rule — a law
  5. last — finally
  6. drill — the tool
  7. tube — the underground
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. degree — an amount
  11. drill — a practice
  12. last — to go on
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. drill — army training
  15. rule — government
  16. tube — a container
  17. chair — a leader
  18. rule — to rule out

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