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

Word bank: degree · swing · fall · rule · cap · safe

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. cap — a hat
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. swing — music
  5. cap — of ice
  6. rule — government
  7. cap — a lid
  8. degree — temperature
  9. safe — a strongbox
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. fall — to drop
  13. swing — in golf
  14. fall — to drop
  15. swing — to play on
  16. fall — the season
  17. rule — a law
  18. degree — from a university

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