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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. field — a subject
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. shower — to wash
  7. degree — an amount
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. degree — from a university
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. field — farmland
  14. wax — to grow
  15. shower — rain
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. field — for sport
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. wind — moving air
  24. wind — moving air

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