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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. jam — in traffic
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. rule — government
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. degree — temperature
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. degree — from a university
  16. jam — a tight spot
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. cell — in biology
  19. cell — a phone
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. jam — to spread on bread
  22. wake — a trail
  23. rule — a law
  24. cabinet — ministers

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