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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. degree — from a university
  3. cold — an illness
  4. rule — government
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. mate — a partner
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. degree — an amount
  10. rule — a law
  11. mate — a friend
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. land — a country
  14. land — ground
  15. kid — child
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. kid — to tease
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. cold — not warm
  22. mate — to breed
  23. land — to come down
  24. cold — the Cold War

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