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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: pop · bulb · last · sharp · degree · rule · straw · ground

  1. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  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. rule — government
  2. ground — crushed
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. degree — temperature
  5. pop — soda
  6. last — final
  7. pop — music
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. degree — an amount
  12. ground — the earth
  13. last — finally
  14. degree — from a university
  15. bulb — for light
  16. bulb — for light
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. pop — to visit
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. sharp — clever
  21. ground — a position
  22. last — to go on
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  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