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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: rule · degree · chair · object · cue · deal · club · tube

  1. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  23. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. tube — the underground
  3. chair — a leader
  4. club — for dancing
  5. cue — for pool
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. tube — a container
  8. degree — an amount
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. degree — from a university
  12. rule — government
  13. object — an aim
  14. club — for golf
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. degree — temperature
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. object — a thing
  20. club — a group
  21. deal — to handle
  22. cue — a signal
  23. cue — a hint
  24. rule — a law

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