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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. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. degree — temperature
  3. bulb — for light
  4. march — the month
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. degree — an amount
  7. wind — moving air
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. dip — to sink
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. wind — moving air
  14. plane — a tool
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. bat — the animal
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. rule — a law
  20. bulb — for light
  21. degree — from a university
  22. rule — government
  23. march — the month
  24. march — music

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