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

Word bank: rule · cold · pound · degree · deal · fork · club · fine

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. rule — a law
  3. deal — to handle
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. degree — temperature
  7. club — for golf
  8. club — a group
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. pound — a weight
  12. degree — an amount
  13. rule — government
  14. cold — not warm
  15. degree — from a university
  16. fine — high quality
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. cold — an illness
  21. fine — all right
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. fork — in a road

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