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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. fall — to drop
  3. scale — in music
  4. snap — to click
  5. rule — government
  6. pitch — completely
  7. chair — a leader
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. rule — a law
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. fall — the season
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. scale — size or range
  17. degree — from a university
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. degree — an amount
  21. rush — hurry
  22. fall — to drop
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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