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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 120 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 felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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. lash — a whip stroke
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. rule — a law
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. degree — temperature
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. band — a ring
  11. present — there
  12. game — a match
  13. band — a music group
  14. present — a gift
  15. club — a group
  16. rule — government
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. present — the time now
  19. club — for golf
  20. degree — an amount
  21. club — for dancing
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. game — wild animals

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