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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: race · ruler · mouse · degree · stock · squash · rush · chair

  1. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — for a computer
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. degree — from a university
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. degree — temperature
  6. chair — a leader
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. race — a contest
  10. stock — shares
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. stock — goods
  13. rush — hurry
  14. race — humankind
  15. squash — to crush
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. degree — an amount
  18. race — the arms race
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. squash — the sport

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