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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. cold — an illness
  3. fine — high quality
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. rule — a law
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. degree — temperature
  12. fine — all right
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. band — a music group
  15. cold — not warm
  16. band — a ring
  17. rule — government
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. degree — an amount
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. fan — a supporter

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