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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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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: shower · degree · last · rule · spell · land · bay · snap

  1. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. last — to go on
  3. bay — to keep at bay
  4. spell — letters
  5. degree — an amount
  6. last — finally
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. snap — to click
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. land — a country
  11. spell — a short time
  12. shower — rain
  13. degree — temperature
  14. land — ground
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. last — final
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. degree — from a university
  19. rule — a law
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. land — to come down
  23. spell — magic
  24. shower — to wash

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