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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. file — a tool
  3. cell — a phone
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. race — the arms race
  7. file — a line of people
  8. rule — a law
  9. rule — government
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. race — humankind
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. file — a document
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. race — a contest
  16. degree — from a university
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. mate — a partner
  19. cell — in biology
  20. mate — a friend
  21. degree — an amount
  22. rush — hurry
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. mate — to breed

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