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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: wake · degree · leaves · deal · chair · stand · spell · race

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. degree — an amount
  6. chair — a leader
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. spell — magic
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. stand — to bear
  11. degree — temperature
  12. race — the arms race
  13. deal — to handle
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. spell — a short time
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. race — a contest
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. spell — letters
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. wake — a trail
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. race — humankind

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