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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. degree — an amount
  3. band — a ring
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. rule — government
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. band — a music group
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. degree — temperature
  11. ground — the earth
  12. ground — crushed
  13. fine — high quality
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. pound — a weight
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. degree — from a university
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. fine — all right
  23. rule — a law
  24. pound — to hit hard

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