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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 116 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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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: tube · current · game · fall · bulb · degree · chair · rule

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. current — electric
  3. degree — an amount
  4. chair — a leader
  5. game — a match
  6. tube — the underground
  7. rule — government
  8. rule — a law
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. bulb — for light
  12. fall — the season
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. degree — from a university
  16. current — happening now
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. fall — to drop
  19. degree — temperature
  20. current — of water
  21. bulb — for light
  22. tube — a container
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. game — wild animals

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