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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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. staff — employees
  3. rule — government
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. degree — from a university
  6. cap — a hat
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. degree — an amount
  11. chest — a box
  12. deal — to handle
  13. chest — of your body
  14. degree — temperature
  15. cap — a lid
  16. chest — of your body
  17. staff — employees
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. plane — a tool
  21. mine — for digging
  22. rule — a law
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. staff — a stick

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