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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: roll · saw · degree · stick · chair · ruler · wake · file

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. degree — an amount
  3. saw — the tool
  4. roll — a cake
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. wake — a trail
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. ruler — a monarch
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. degree — temperature
  12. file — a document
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. chair — a leader
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. file — a line of people
  17. file — a tool
  18. saw — the tool
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. roll — a list
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. roll — on a roll

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