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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 120 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: pass · degree · cold · rush · court · chair · lean · firm

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. lean — thin
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. chair — a leader
  6. rush — hurry
  7. degree — from a university
  8. degree — an amount
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. cold — not warm
  12. degree — temperature
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. lean — to bend
  16. court — of law
  17. firm — a company
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. pass — a permit
  20. firm — decided
  21. firm — steady
  22. court — of a king
  23. cold — an illness
  24. court — for 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