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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 fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. rule — government
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. degree — from a university
  5. degree — an amount
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. stand — to bear
  8. hand — in cards
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. wind — moving air
  13. perch — the fish
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. rule — a law
  17. wind — moving air
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. hand — help
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. bass — low music
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. degree — temperature

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