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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. rule — a law
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. club — for golf
  7. degree — from a university
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. spell — letters
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. degree — temperature
  13. club — for dancing
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. club — a group
  16. lie — to recline
  17. kick — in football
  18. bass — the fish
  19. bass — low music
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. spell — magic
  22. spell — a short time
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. rule — government

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