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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: degree · rule · swing · kid · mark · shower · last · board

  1. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. rule — a law
  3. swing — in golf
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. mark — a trace
  6. kid — child
  7. shower — rain
  8. swing — music
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. rule — government
  11. swing — to play on
  12. board — a committee
  13. board — to get on
  14. degree — an amount
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. kid — to tease
  18. degree — temperature
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. last — to go on
  21. shower — to wash
  22. degree — from a university
  23. last — finally
  24. last — final

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