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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: rule · wind · cell · staff · roll · degree · pitcher · pass

  1. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. staff — employees
  3. degree — an amount
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. staff — a stick
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. rule — government
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. cell — in biology
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. wind — moving air
  14. roll — a cake
  15. cell — a phone
  16. rule — a law
  17. staff — employees
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. wind — moving air
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. degree — from a university
  22. degree — temperature
  23. roll — a list
  24. pitcher — a jug

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