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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: mate · ruler · hand · present · degree · chair

  1. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. present — the time now
  4. mate — a friend
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. degree — an amount
  7. hand — help
  8. mate — to breed
  9. degree — from a university
  10. hand — in cards
  11. present — a gift
  12. ruler — a monarch
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. chair — a leader
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. degree — temperature
  18. mate — a partner

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