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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 116 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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. degree — an amount
  3. wind — moving air
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. rule — a law
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. degree — temperature
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. march — music
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. march — the month
  16. degree — from a university
  17. stand — to bear
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. wind — moving air
  20. branch — a division
  21. march — the month
  22. fine — high quality
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. rule — government

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