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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. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. degree — an amount
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. file — a tool
  5. rush — hurry
  6. degree — temperature
  7. land — a country
  8. land — ground
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. rash — hasty
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. deal — to handle
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. land — to come down
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. degree — from a university
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. file — a document
  23. file — a line of people
  24. kick — in football

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