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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: degree · field · rule · mouse · shower · hand · stick · safe

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  8. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. degree — an amount
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. safe — a strongbox
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. degree — temperature
  10. degree — from a university
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. shower — rain
  13. shower — to wash
  14. rule — a law
  15. field — farmland
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. field — a subject
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. field — for sport
  23. rule — government
  24. hand — in cards

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