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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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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: rest · mug · degree · cell · pitcher · kid · board · rule

  1. He is an ace ________________.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. rule — a law
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. kid — to tease
  5. rule — government
  6. board — a committee
  7. rest — what's left
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. rest — what's left
  10. board — to get on
  11. degree — an amount
  12. mug — a cup
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. rest — a break
  15. degree — temperature
  16. degree — from a university
  17. cell — in biology
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. mug — to rob
  20. kid — child
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. mug — a face
  24. cell — a phone

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