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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. bank — for money
  5. rule — a law
  6. degree — an amount
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. bat — the animal
  9. rule — government
  10. chair — a leader
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. net — in sport
  13. degree — temperature
  14. club — for dancing
  15. club — for golf
  16. cold — not warm
  17. bank — for money
  18. club — a group
  19. bank — of a river
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. degree — from a university
  23. cold — an illness
  24. net — after costs

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