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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 116 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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. rule — government
  3. lie — to recline
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. track — a song
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. degree — from a university
  8. degree — an amount
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. rock — music
  11. track — a path
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. kid — child
  14. rock — a stone
  15. net — in sport
  16. kid — to tease
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. net — after costs
  19. net — for catching
  20. track — to keep track
  21. pitch — completely
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. rule — a law

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