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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.

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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. march — the month
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. march — the month
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. rash — hasty
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. band — a music group
  12. band — a ring
  13. ground — crushed
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. degree — an amount
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. rash — a series
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. ground — the earth
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. degree — from a university
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. march — music
  24. ground — a position

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