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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. degree — temperature
  3. bulb — for light
  4. degree — an amount
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. cold — not warm
  7. club — a group
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. bulb — for light
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. last — finally
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. club — for dancing
  14. cold — an illness
  15. rule — a law
  16. club — for golf
  17. rule — government
  18. cell — a phone
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. degree — from a university
  22. last — final
  23. cell — in biology
  24. cell — in a prison

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