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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. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. present — the time now
  3. cap — of ice
  4. game — a match
  5. mate — a partner
  6. present — there
  7. cap — a lid
  8. mate — a friend
  9. tube — the underground
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. tear — to rip
  12. lie — to recline
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. cap — a hat
  15. tear — from crying
  16. mate — to breed
  17. game — wild animals
  18. degree — an amount
  19. tube — a container
  20. tear — from crying
  21. present — a gift
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. degree — from a university
  24. lie — an untruth

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