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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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. bound — obliged
  4. bound — certain
  5. rule — government
  6. rule — a law
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. shower — rain
  9. degree — from a university
  10. degree — temperature
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. shower — to wash
  13. roll — a list
  14. wind — moving air
  15. staff — employees
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. wind — moving air
  19. staff — employees
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. bound — tied together
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. degree — an amount
  24. roll — a cake

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