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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. court — of law
  4. jam — to spread on bread
  5. degree — an amount
  6. race — the arms race
  7. jam — a tight spot
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. court — for sport
  10. bat — the animal
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. race — humankind
  13. date — the fruit
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. degree — from a university
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. bark — to shout
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. race — a contest
  23. court — of a king
  24. ruler — for measuring

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