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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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  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. squash — the vegetable
  3. fall — to drop
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. row — a line
  6. scale — size or range
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. row — to paddle
  11. fall — to drop
  12. degree — an amount
  13. squash — the sport
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. content — happy
  16. scale — in music
  17. fall — the season
  18. squash — to crush
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. degree — from a university
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. content — the amount
  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