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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: last · degree · wind · stick · pitcher · chair · ruler · calf

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. degree — temperature
  5. last — final
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. degree — from a university
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. wind — moving air
  14. degree — an amount
  15. last — to go on
  16. wind — moving air
  17. chair — a leader
  18. ruler — a monarch
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. last — finally
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. ruler — for measuring

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