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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. That was a fun ________________.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. game — a match
  3. game — wild animals
  4. cold — not warm
  5. object — to protest
  6. file — a document
  7. degree — from a university
  8. cap — of ice
  9. object — a thing
  10. object — an aim
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. file — a tool
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. cold — an illness
  16. bear — the animal
  17. bear — the animal
  18. file — a line of people
  19. degree — an amount
  20. cap — a hat
  21. cap — a lid
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. vault — a safe

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