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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: fall · rule · content · rest · chair · bound · coach · degree

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. fall — the season
  3. rule — government
  4. rest — what's left
  5. degree — an amount
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. chair — a leader
  10. rest — what's left
  11. bound — obliged
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. bound — tied together
  14. bound — certain
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. fall — to drop
  17. rest — a break
  18. rule — a law
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. content — happy
  21. content — the amount
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. fall — to drop
  24. degree — temperature

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