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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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. lie — to recline
  3. net — in sport
  4. pass — a permit
  5. season — of the year
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. season — in sport
  8. degree — an amount
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. rule — a law
  13. snap — to click
  14. degree — temperature
  15. file — a document
  16. degree — from a university
  17. file — a tool
  18. pass — to succeed
  19. file — a line of people
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. net — for catching
  24. net — after costs

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