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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: degree · chair · club · arm · rule · pound · face · bat

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. club — a group
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. face — to point toward
  8. pound — a weight
  9. degree — an amount
  10. rule — government
  11. bat — the animal
  12. face — to confront
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. club — for dancing
  15. face — part of the head
  16. chair — a leader
  17. club — for golf
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. rule — a law
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. degree — from a university
  22. degree — temperature
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. chair — a professorship

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