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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. swing — to play on
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. degree — from a university
  5. pound — a weight
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. rule — government
  8. degree — temperature
  9. rest — what's left
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. land — a country
  12. swing — in golf
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. rash — hasty
  15. land — ground
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. rest — what's left
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. degree — an amount
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. rule — a law
  22. rash — a series
  23. rest — a break
  24. swing — music

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