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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. degree — temperature
  3. shower — to wash
  4. degree — an amount
  5. object — to protest
  6. net — for catching
  7. firm — a company
  8. rule — a law
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. object — a thing
  11. spell — a short time
  12. object — an aim
  13. net — after costs
  14. firm — decided
  15. degree — from a university
  16. spell — magic
  17. firm — steady
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. spell — letters
  21. shower — rain
  22. net — in sport
  23. rule — government
  24. wound — an injury

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