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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: net · rush · club · rule · deal · ball · degree · tear

  1. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. club — a group
  3. rule — a law
  4. ball — a great time
  5. ball — a dance
  6. rush — hurry
  7. club — for dancing
  8. net — for catching
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. deal — to handle
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. degree — temperature
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. tear — from crying
  15. degree — an amount
  16. net — after costs
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. net — in sport
  20. degree — from a university
  21. tear — to rip
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. club — for golf
  24. tear — from crying

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