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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. squash — the sport
  3. ball — a dance
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. rest — what's left
  6. land — to come down
  7. object — an aim
  8. field — for sport
  9. wind — moving air
  10. field — a subject
  11. squash — to crush
  12. field — farmland
  13. object — a thing
  14. wind — moving air
  15. rest — a break
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. rest — what's left
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. degree — an amount
  20. object — to protest
  21. land — a country
  22. degree — from a university
  23. land — ground
  24. ball — a great time

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