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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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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: hand · rock · cell · foot · degree · ruler · march · chair

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. foot — a measure
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. degree — temperature
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. march — music
  7. march — the month
  8. rock — a stone
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. degree — from a university
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. hand — help
  13. rock — music
  14. march — the month
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. cell — in biology
  18. ruler — a monarch
  19. hand — in cards
  20. chair — a leader
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. degree — an amount
  24. cell — a phone

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