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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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. wound — an injury
  3. kick — in football
  4. wind — moving air
  5. degree — an amount
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. degree — temperature
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. wound — an injury
  11. rule — government
  12. ball — a great time
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. degree — from a university
  16. snap — to click
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. ball — a dance
  19. wind — moving air
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. row — to paddle
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. row — a line

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