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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. degree — from a university
  3. tube — a container
  4. bank — for money
  5. wound — an injury
  6. wound — an injury
  7. field — a subject
  8. rule — a law
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. degree — an amount
  11. fine — all right
  12. field — farmland
  13. tube — the underground
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. field — for sport
  16. bank — of a river
  17. fine — high quality
  18. bank — for money
  19. rule — government
  20. ball — a great time
  21. ball — a dance
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. fine — a penalty

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