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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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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. degree — from a university
  3. pop — soda
  4. degree — an amount
  5. pit — a hole
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. race — a contest
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. race — humankind
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. pop — to visit
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. band — a ring
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. pop — music
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. race — the arms race
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. plane — a tool
  23. band — a music group
  24. pit — in a race

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