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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. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. spell — a short time
  4. game — a match
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. degree — an amount
  7. wind — moving air
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. spell — letters
  10. degree — from a university
  11. mate — a friend
  12. mate — a partner
  13. wind — moving air
  14. fall — to drop
  15. fall — the season
  16. game — wild animals
  17. mate — to breed
  18. spell — magic
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. fall — to drop
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. fork — in a road

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