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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. When was this ________________ built?
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. degree — temperature
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. degree — from a university
  5. tear — from crying
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. bear — the animal
  8. cell — a phone
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. scale — size or range
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. bear — the animal
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. scale — in music
  15. saw — the tool
  16. tear — to rip
  17. tear — from crying
  18. degree — an amount
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. saw — the tool
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. cell — in biology
  24. bear — to put up with

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