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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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. band — a music group
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. roll — a cake
  5. roll — a list
  6. drill — a practice
  7. object — an aim
  8. net — after costs
  9. drill — the tool
  10. net — in sport
  11. drill — army training
  12. net — for catching
  13. band — a ring
  14. degree — from a university
  15. degree — an amount
  16. rule — government
  17. object — to protest
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. object — a thing
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. degree — temperature
  23. ruler — a monarch
  24. band — a rubber band

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