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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 coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. swing — in golf
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. last — final
  5. fine — all right
  6. tear — to rip
  7. last — finally
  8. shower — to wash
  9. ball — a great time
  10. degree — from a university
  11. fine — high quality
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. tear — from crying
  14. degree — an amount
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. tear — from crying
  18. last — to go on
  19. swing — music
  20. shower — rain
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. ball — a dance
  23. swing — to play on
  24. cabinet — ministers

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