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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 chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. spell — magic
  3. degree — temperature
  4. press — newspapers
  5. press — a publisher
  6. rule — government
  7. press — to push
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. squash — the sport
  10. row — to paddle
  11. capital — money
  12. squash — to crush
  13. kick — in football
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. spell — letters
  16. rule — a law
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. capital — a city
  20. spell — a short time
  21. row — a line
  22. degree — from a university
  23. degree — an amount
  24. kick — with a leg

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