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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. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Where did you ________________ them?
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. pound — a weight
  4. rule — government
  5. capital — a city
  6. cap — a lid
  7. mug — a face
  8. degree — temperature
  9. degree — from a university
  10. cold — not warm
  11. snap — to click
  12. cap — of ice
  13. cold — an illness
  14. capital — money
  15. degree — an amount
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. cap — a hat
  20. mug — a cup
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. mug — to rob
  24. rule — a law

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