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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. mark — a trace
  4. hand — in cards
  5. jam — to spread on bread
  6. hand — help
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. rule — government
  9. jam — a tight spot
  10. fork — in a road
  11. saw — the tool
  12. saw — the tool
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. present — the time now
  15. rule — a law
  16. present — there
  17. jam — in traffic
  18. present — a gift
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. degree — temperature
  21. mark — a grade
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. degree — an amount
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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