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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 124 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 chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. net — after costs
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. net — in sport
  6. spell — letters
  7. degree — from a university
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. tear — to rip
  11. degree — temperature
  12. tear — from crying
  13. roll — a cake
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. rule — government
  16. roll — a list
  17. net — for catching
  18. spell — a short time
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. rule — a law
  21. degree — an amount
  22. spell — magic
  23. tear — from crying
  24. bowl — to roll

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