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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 120 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. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. root — the cause
  6. tear — from crying
  7. tear — from crying
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. kick — in football
  10. degree — from a university
  11. degree — temperature
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. root — of a plant
  15. sharp — clever
  16. rule — a law
  17. rule — government
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. tear — to rip
  20. fine — all right
  21. fine — high quality
  22. root — of a word
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. degree — an amount

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