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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. rule — a law
  3. degree — an amount
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. sharp — clever
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. rule — government
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. drill — the tool
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. bass — the fish
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. stem — to come from
  17. drill — army training
  18. drill — a practice
  19. degree — from a university
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. degree — temperature
  22. bass — low music
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. bass — the instrument

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