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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: safe · cold · rule · racket · degree · fine · saw · wind

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

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. rule — government
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. rule — a law
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. fine — high quality
  8. cold — an illness
  9. wind — moving air
  10. saw — the tool
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. degree — from a university
  13. wind — moving air
  14. degree — temperature
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. safe — a strongbox
  19. saw — the tool
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. fine — all right
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. cold — not warm
  24. degree — an amount

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