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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: track · chair · cue · deal · degree · ruler · rest · tube

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. chair — a leader
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. rest — a break
  5. track — a song
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. rest — what's left
  8. track — to keep track
  9. deal — to handle
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. cue — for pool
  13. degree — temperature
  14. ruler — a monarch
  15. cue — a hint
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. rest — what's left
  18. track — a path
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. cue — a signal
  21. tube — a container
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. degree — from a university
  24. tube — the underground

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