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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: kid · rule · staff · calf · chair · straw · degree · mark

  1. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. kid — to tease
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. degree — from a university
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. kid — child
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. degree — temperature
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. mark — a grade
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. staff — a stick
  16. chair — a leader
  17. degree — an amount
  18. staff — employees
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. staff — employees
  21. rule — government
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. mark — a trace
  24. calf — a young animal

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