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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. degree — temperature
  3. bay — to keep at bay
  4. race — humankind
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. file — a document
  8. degree — from a university
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. race — the arms race
  13. race — a contest
  14. capital — money
  15. file — a line of people
  16. band — a ring
  17. spring — of water
  18. capital — a city
  19. band — a music group
  20. file — a tool
  21. spring — a coil
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. snap — to click
  24. spring — the season

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