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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. spring — a coil
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. lean — thin
  5. spring — the season
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. game — wild animals
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. degree — from a university
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. degree — an amount
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. drill — army training
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. game — a match
  17. spring — of water
  18. drill — a practice
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. lean — to bend
  21. drill — the tool
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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