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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. degree — an amount
  3. cell — a phone
  4. rule — government
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. rule — a law
  7. degree — temperature
  8. cell — in biology
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. charge — in control
  14. charge — a price
  15. prune — to trim
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. charge — electricity
  18. rock — music
  19. prune — to trim
  20. rock — a stone
  21. season — of the year
  22. season — in sport
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. rock — to move gently

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