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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. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. stick — to attach or keep to
  4. spell — magic
  5. spell — a short time
  6. cold — an illness
  7. spell — letters
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. degree — from a university
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. band — a ring
  18. degree — an amount
  19. band — a music group
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. cold — not warm
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. cell — in biology
  24. cell — a phone

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