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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: pound · safe · last · rule · wind · tear · court · degree

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. degree — from a university
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. tear — from crying
  5. degree — temperature
  6. tear — to rip
  7. degree — an amount
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. court — of law
  11. last — to go on
  12. safe — a strongbox
  13. last — finally
  14. pound — a weight
  15. court — of a king
  16. rule — a law
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. wind — moving air
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. last — final
  21. tear — from crying
  22. court — for sport
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. rule — government

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