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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. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. board — to get on
  3. cell — a phone
  4. cell — in biology
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. degree — an amount
  8. bore — to tire
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. board — a committee
  11. chest — of your body
  12. kick — in football
  13. march — the month
  14. chest — a box
  15. chest — of your body
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. bore — to drill
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. degree — from a university
  21. mine — for digging
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. march — music
  24. march — the month

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