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

  1. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a list
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. degree — an amount
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. roll — a cake
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. sharp — clever
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. rule — government
  17. degree — temperature
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. degree — from a university
  20. bat — the animal
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. rule — a law
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. sharp — with an edge

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