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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. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. degree — an amount
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. fall — to drop
  6. court — of law
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. wake — a trail
  9. current — electric
  10. fall — to drop
  11. band — a ring
  12. rest — a break
  13. rest — what's left
  14. band — a music group
  15. court — for sport
  16. fall — the season
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. rest — what's left
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. current — happening now
  21. court — of a king
  22. degree — from a university
  23. current — of water
  24. nail — for a hammer

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