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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. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. snap — to click
  3. lean — to bend
  4. rule — a law
  5. court — for sport
  6. spell — letters
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. spell — magic
  9. firm — decided
  10. degree — temperature
  11. rule — government
  12. spell — a short time
  13. court — of law
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. court — of a king
  16. pop — soda
  17. degree — an amount
  18. firm — steady
  19. lean — thin
  20. pop — music
  21. pop — to visit
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. degree — from a university
  24. firm — a company

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