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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. rule — a law
  3. shower — rain
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. saw — the tool
  6. present — the time now
  7. present — a gift
  8. rule — government
  9. degree — from a university
  10. key — the most important part
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. present — there
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. sharp — clever
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. saw — the tool
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. shower — to wash
  19. key — for a lock
  20. key — in music
  21. degree — temperature
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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