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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. The tickets are free of ________________.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. rule — government
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. file — a line of people
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. degree — an amount
  10. lie — to recline
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. degree — temperature
  13. rule — a law
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. charge — electricity
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. lean — thin
  18. charge — in control
  19. file — a document
  20. charge — a price
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. fork — in a road
  23. file — a tool
  24. lean — to bend

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