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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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. cabinet — ministers
  4. vault — a safe
  5. degree — an amount
  6. rule — government
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. bound — tied together
  9. bound — certain
  10. rule — a law
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. degree — temperature
  14. court — of a king
  15. court — for sport
  16. cold — not warm
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. bound — obliged
  20. court — of law
  21. cold — an illness
  22. rock — a stone
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. rock — music

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