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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. fine — high quality
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. degree — temperature
  5. degree — an amount
  6. vault — a safe
  7. degree — from a university
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. capital — money
  12. tear — from crying
  13. capital — a city
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. deal — to handle
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. rule — a law
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. tear — from crying
  21. tear — to rip
  22. rule — government
  23. pound — a weight
  24. deal — a big deal

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