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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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. cue — for pool
  4. shower — to wash
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. degree — from a university
  7. vault — a safe
  8. mine — for digging
  9. fork — in a road
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. cue — a hint
  12. rule — a law
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. degree — temperature
  15. shower — rain
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. cue — a signal
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. degree — an amount
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. rule — to rule out

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