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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. rule — government
  4. bass — low music
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. file — a line of people
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. present — there
  9. rule — a law
  10. file — a document
  11. ball — a dance
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. fork — in a road
  14. file — a tool
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. present — the time now
  18. bass — the fish
  19. degree — temperature
  20. degree — from a university
  21. present — a gift
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. degree — an amount
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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