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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: mate · bat · cabinet · foot · degree · kick · pop · rule

  1. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. pop — to visit
  3. mate — a friend
  4. foot — the bottom
  5. mate — a partner
  6. degree — an amount
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. degree — from a university
  9. pop — music
  10. degree — temperature
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. rule — a law
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. mate — to breed
  18. kick — in football
  19. rule — government
  20. pop — soda
  21. bat — the animal
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. foot — a measure
  24. foot — part of the body

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