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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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. rule — a law
  5. degree — temperature
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. dip — to sink
  9. land — to come down
  10. hand — help
  11. wind — moving air
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. degree — from a university
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. wind — moving air
  18. degree — an amount
  19. land — ground
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. hand — in cards
  22. land — a country
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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