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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. degree — an amount
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. degree — temperature
  8. pass — a permit
  9. rule — government
  10. band — a music group
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. shower — to wash
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. rule — a law
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. band — a ring
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. shower — rain
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. pass — to succeed
  24. fork — in a road

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