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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: bear · race · bat · wound · degree · chair · rule · fan

  1. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. wound — an injury
  3. degree — temperature
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. bat — the animal
  6. race — humankind
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. race — a contest
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. degree — from a university
  13. race — the arms race
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. wound — an injury
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. degree — an amount
  19. chair — a leader
  20. bear — the animal
  21. bear — the animal
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. rule — a law
  24. fan — a supporter

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