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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. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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. lie — an untruth
  4. land — to come down
  5. content — happy
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. cue — a hint
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. cue — a signal
  11. land — ground
  12. land — a country
  13. lie — to recline
  14. degree — from a university
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. content — the amount
  17. current — electric
  18. cue — for pool
  19. dip — to sink
  20. current — of water
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. current — happening now
  24. straw — a straw man

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