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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 120 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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. degree — an amount
  3. cap — a hat
  4. court — for sport
  5. swing — in golf
  6. court — of a king
  7. cap — of ice
  8. scale — size or range
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. bear — the animal
  11. swing — music
  12. cap — a lid
  13. court — of law
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. swing — to play on
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. row — to paddle
  18. row — a line
  19. degree — from a university
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. bear — the animal
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. scale — in music

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