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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. race — a contest
  3. field — a subject
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. degree — an amount
  6. shower — to wash
  7. band — a music group
  8. race — humankind
  9. field — for sport
  10. race — the arms race
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. charge — a price
  14. charge — electricity
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. degree — from a university
  18. shower — rain
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. band — a ring
  21. fine — all right
  22. field — farmland
  23. charge — in control
  24. fine — high quality

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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