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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: chair · rule · date · dip · rest · march · drill · degree

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. march — the month
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. degree — from a university
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. drill — army training
  9. date — the fruit
  10. drill — a practice
  11. rest — what's left
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. rule — government
  15. march — the month
  16. chair — a leader
  17. march — music
  18. rest — a break
  19. dip — to sink
  20. rule — a law
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. degree — an amount
  23. drill — the tool
  24. rest — what's left

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