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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: key · rule · degree · chair · dip · wind · bat · racket

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. key — for a lock
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. dip — to sink
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. rule — government
  9. rule — a law
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. degree — temperature
  13. bat — the animal
  14. wind — moving air
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. key — in music
  17. wind — moving air
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. degree — an amount
  20. chair — a leader
  21. degree — from a university
  22. key — the most important part
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. chair — to sit on

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