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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. degree — an amount
  3. degree — from a university
  4. rule — government
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. last — final
  7. net — in sport
  8. fine — all right
  9. net — for catching
  10. march — music
  11. fine — high quality
  12. last — to go on
  13. pit — in a race
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. rule — a law
  16. march — the month
  17. degree — temperature
  18. pit — a hole
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. net — after costs
  21. march — the month
  22. last — finally
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. bowl — a dish

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