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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: nail · ruler · lash · chair · cell · rule · degree · bat

  1. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. cell — a phone
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. chair — a leader
  7. bat — the animal
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. cell — in biology
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. degree — temperature
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. degree — from a university
  18. rule — government
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. degree — an amount
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. lash — an eyelash

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