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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. lean — thin
  5. rule — government
  6. charge — a price
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. degree — temperature
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. cold — not warm
  12. rule — a law
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. degree — an amount
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. charge — electricity
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. shower — rain
  20. cold — an illness
  21. charge — in control
  22. lean — to bend
  23. degree — from a university
  24. branch — a division

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