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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. land — ground
  3. land — a country
  4. pop — to visit
  5. bank — of a river
  6. pop — music
  7. cue — a hint
  8. last — finally
  9. degree — an amount
  10. land — to come down
  11. pop — soda
  12. degree — from a university
  13. cue — for pool
  14. last — to go on
  15. cue — a signal
  16. bank — for money
  17. bank — for money
  18. last — final

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