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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: ruler · chair · rule · bat · rush · degree

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. rule — a law
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. degree — from a university
  5. chair — a leader
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. degree — an amount
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. rush — hurry
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. bat — the animal
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. rule — government
  18. rush — to hurry

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