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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 · pass · net · snap · race · ruler · spell · chair

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. race — the arms race
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. spell — magic
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. pass — a permit
  8. net — for catching
  9. chair — a leader
  10. degree — an amount
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. net — in sport
  13. spell — a short time
  14. spell — letters
  15. race — humankind
  16. degree — from a university
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. degree — temperature
  19. snap — to click
  20. race — a contest
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. net — after costs

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