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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: spell · trunk · fine · rule · march · degree · ground · cold

  1. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. ground — crushed
  3. march — music
  4. degree — from a university
  5. degree — an amount
  6. ground — a position
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. cold — an illness
  9. cold — not warm
  10. fine — high quality
  11. spell — a short time
  12. ground — the earth
  13. degree — temperature
  14. fine — all right
  15. rule — government
  16. spell — magic
  17. march — the month
  18. spell — letters
  19. march — the month
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. rule — a law

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