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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. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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. ruler — for measuring
  4. cold — an illness
  5. face — to point toward
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. swing — to play on
  8. snap — to click
  9. face — to confront
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. swing — in golf
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. squash — the sport
  14. cold — not warm
  15. degree — an amount
  16. swing — music
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. squash — to crush
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. face — part of the head
  21. ruler — a monarch
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. mouse — for a computer

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