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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. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. rule — a law
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. game — wild animals
  6. rock — a stone
  7. rule — government
  8. degree — temperature
  9. key — the most important part
  10. hand — in cards
  11. degree — from a university
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. hand — help
  15. key — in music
  16. rock — music
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. ground — crushed
  19. key — for a lock
  20. degree — an amount
  21. game — a match
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. ground — a position
  24. ground — the earth

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