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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. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. snap — to click
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. band — a music group
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. rule — a law
  7. face — to point toward
  8. track — a song
  9. degree — from a university
  10. track — a path
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. degree — temperature
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. cell — in biology
  15. face — part of the head
  16. track — to keep track
  17. safe — a strongbox
  18. rule — government
  19. face — to confront
  20. cell — a phone
  21. degree — an amount
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. band — a ring
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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