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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 120 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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. degree — an amount
  3. mug — a face
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. degree — temperature
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. cold — not warm
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. shower — rain
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. cold — an illness
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. rule — a law
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. rule — government
  19. mug — to rob
  20. mug — a cup
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. degree — from a university

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