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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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. firm — decided
  3. rule — government
  4. ball — a great time
  5. hand — in cards
  6. degree — an amount
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. degree — temperature
  9. root — the cause
  10. field — a subject
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. degree — from a university
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. snap — to click
  15. root — of a word
  16. hand — help
  17. field — for sport
  18. root — of a plant
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. ball — a dance
  21. firm — a company
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. firm — steady
  24. field — farmland

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