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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: last · degree · chair · drill · rule · tube · net · wound

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. net — for catching
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. last — finally
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. degree — from a university
  7. tube — a container
  8. degree — temperature
  9. rule — government
  10. degree — an amount
  11. last — to go on
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. rule — a law
  14. drill — army training
  15. drill — a practice
  16. chair — a leader
  17. wound — an injury
  18. last — final
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. tube — the underground
  21. net — after costs
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. drill — the tool
  24. net — in 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