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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · pop · degree · rule · drill · object · content · deal

  1. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. rule — government
  3. pop — to visit
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. object — a thing
  6. drill — army training
  7. rule — a law
  8. content — the amount
  9. pop — music
  10. content — happy
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. shower — rain
  13. pop — soda
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. degree — from a university
  16. drill — a practice
  17. shower — to wash
  18. degree — temperature
  19. deal — to handle
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. drill — the tool
  22. object — to protest
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. degree — an amount

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