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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. field — farmland
  3. fall — the season
  4. pop — soda
  5. drill — a practice
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. drill — army training
  8. present — there
  9. chip — to eat
  10. band — a ring
  11. drill — the tool
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. pop — to visit
  14. pop — music
  15. degree — an amount
  16. present — a gift
  17. field — for sport
  18. fall — to drop
  19. chip — for betting
  20. degree — from a university
  21. field — a subject
  22. present — the time now
  23. band — a music group
  24. fall — to drop

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