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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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. rule — government
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. degree — an amount
  5. hand — help
  6. bound — tied together
  7. degree — temperature
  8. bound — certain
  9. pop — soda
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. hand — in cards
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. bound — obliged
  14. lean — to bend
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. rule — a law
  18. season — in sport
  19. pop — to visit
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. lean — thin
  23. season — of the year
  24. degree — from a university

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