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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. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. rule — government
  3. ground — the earth
  4. rule — a law
  5. ground — crushed
  6. object — to protest
  7. bound — obliged
  8. degree — an amount
  9. mine — for digging
  10. ground — a position
  11. object — an aim
  12. bound — certain
  13. shower — to wash
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. object — a thing
  16. bound — tied together
  17. cap — a hat
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. degree — temperature
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. cap — a lid
  22. shower — rain
  23. degree — from a university
  24. cap — of ice

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