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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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. degree — from a university
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. kid — to tease
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. rule — a law
  7. spell — letters
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. hand — help
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. kid — child
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. degree — temperature
  19. spell — a short time
  20. rush — hurry
  21. spell — magic
  22. hand — in cards
  23. degree — an amount
  24. fan — to cool the air

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