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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: safe · cold · rule · racket · degree · fine

  1. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. cold — an illness
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. cold — not warm
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. rule — a law
  7. fine — all right
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. degree — temperature
  12. safe — a strongbox
  13. degree — from a university
  14. rule — government
  15. fine — high quality
  16. degree — an amount
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. racket — for tennis

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