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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 116 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. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. pitch — completely
  3. degree — from a university
  4. pop — soda
  5. race — humankind
  6. spring — a coil
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. degree — an amount
  10. chip — for betting
  11. spring — the season
  12. race — the arms race
  13. chip — to eat
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. race — a contest
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. pop — music
  21. spring — of water
  22. pop — to visit
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. pitch — a sports field

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