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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. mate — to breed
  3. mate — a partner
  4. squash — the sport
  5. march — the month
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. degree — an amount
  12. cell — a phone
  13. sharp — clever
  14. squash — to crush
  15. march — the month
  16. degree — from a university
  17. chair — a leader
  18. pound — a weight
  19. cell — in biology
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. march — music
  24. mate — a friend

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