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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. band — a ring
  4. hand — help
  5. band — a music group
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. cue — for pool
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. degree — an amount
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. degree — temperature
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. cue — a signal
  14. rule — government
  15. cue — a hint
  16. dip — to sink
  17. hand — in cards
  18. rule — a law

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