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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 116 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: rule · cold · pound · degree · fine · fan · stick · ground

  1. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. cold — an illness
  4. degree — an amount
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. cold — not warm
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. degree — temperature
  9. degree — from a university
  10. rule — a law
  11. fine — high quality
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. ground — the earth
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. ground — crushed
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. rule — government
  21. ground — a position
  22. pound — a weight
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. fine — all right

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