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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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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: degree · rash · pit · spell · clip · rule · saw · hand

  1. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. hand — in cards
  3. rule — a law
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. rule — government
  6. spell — a short time
  7. spell — magic
  8. degree — temperature
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. saw — the tool
  11. clip — for paper
  12. clip — to cut
  13. degree — from a university
  14. pit — in a race
  15. rash — a series
  16. degree — an amount
  17. spell — letters
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. saw — the tool
  21. hand — help
  22. clip — a video
  23. pit — a hole
  24. rash — hasty

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