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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 · rule · tear · rest · degree · roll · present · straw

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. rest — what's left
  5. rest — a break
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. roll — a cake
  8. present — there
  9. present — a gift
  10. rule — government
  11. tear — from crying
  12. degree — an amount
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. roll — a list
  15. rule — a law
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. tear — from crying
  18. rest — what's left
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. degree — from a university
  21. tear — to rip
  22. present — the time now
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. chair — a leader

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