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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 assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. ground — a position
  6. ground — crushed
  7. tear — from crying
  8. rash — a series
  9. pop — music
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. tear — from crying
  12. degree — an amount
  13. rash — hasty
  14. pop — soda
  15. degree — temperature
  16. pop — to visit
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. tear — to rip
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. fine — high quality
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. degree — from a university
  24. ground — the earth

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