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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: bound · jam · shower · degree · lash · field · drill · rule

  1. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. degree — from a university
  4. degree — an amount
  5. shower — rain
  6. field — a subject
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. drill — the tool
  9. field — for sport
  10. degree — temperature
  11. jam — in traffic
  12. drill — a practice
  13. field — farmland
  14. rule — government
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. bound — obliged
  17. jam — a tight spot
  18. bound — tied together
  19. shower — to wash
  20. bound — certain
  21. drill — army training
  22. jam — to spread on bread
  23. rule — a law
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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