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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: fall · lie · band · chair · hand · rush · degree · fine

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. fall — to drop
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. degree — temperature
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. rush — hurry
  7. degree — an amount
  8. hand — in cards
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. band — a music group
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. fall — the season
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. fine — high quality
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. fine — all right
  18. fall — to drop
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. chair — a leader
  21. band — a ring
  22. degree — from a university
  23. hand — help
  24. lie — to recline

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