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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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. pop — to visit
  3. pop — soda
  4. degree — temperature
  5. fall — the season
  6. degree — from a university
  7. net — after costs
  8. pop — music
  9. spell — a short time
  10. wax — to grow
  11. spell — magic
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. spell — letters
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. stock — shares
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. fall — to drop
  18. degree — an amount
  19. net — in sport
  20. net — for catching
  21. stock — goods
  22. rule — a law
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. fall — to drop

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