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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: degree · hide · chair · club · track · stick · wind · ruler

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. track — to keep track
  4. club — for dancing
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. track — a song
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. ruler — a monarch
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. club — a group
  12. degree — temperature
  13. chair — a leader
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. wind — moving air
  17. wind — moving air
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. club — for golf
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. degree — an amount
  23. track — a path
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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