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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. degree — an amount
  3. march — the month
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. tear — from crying
  6. field — farmland
  7. snap — to click
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. rock — a stone
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. march — music
  14. march — the month
  15. tear — from crying
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. field — a subject
  18. degree — from a university
  19. field — for sport
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. rock — music
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. tear — to rip
  24. fork — in a road

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