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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. Where did you ________________ them?
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. court — for sport
  4. mug — to rob
  5. wound — an injury
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. hand — in cards
  8. rule — a law
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. mug — a face
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. mug — a cup
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. wound — an injury
  16. court — of a king
  17. rush — hurry
  18. snap — to click
  19. degree — an amount
  20. degree — temperature
  21. court — of law
  22. hand — help
  23. degree — from a university
  24. rule — government

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