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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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. rule — a law
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. spell — letters
  6. degree — temperature
  7. rule — government
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. squash — the sport
  10. vault — a safe
  11. degree — an amount
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. kid — to tease
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. spell — a short time
  17. squash — to crush
  18. rest — a break
  19. deal — to handle
  20. degree — from a university
  21. spell — magic
  22. rest — what's left
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. kid — child

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